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COL.  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  FLOWERS 
MEMORIAL  COLLECTION 


TRINITY  COLLEGE  LIBRARY 
DURHAM,  N.C. 


Established  by  the  family  of 
COL.  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  FLOWERS 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2017  with  funding  from 
Duke  University  Libraries 


https://archive.org/details/temperancevolume01amer 


THE 


6 <> 


TEMPERANCE  VOLUME; 


^ ^ ^ EUpUCING 


SEVENTEEN  TRACTS 


OP  THE 


AMERICAN  TRACT  SOCIETY. 


PUBLISHED  BY  THE  SOCIETY, 

NO.  150  NASSAU-STREET,  NEW-YORK. 


D.  Fanthatr,  Printer. 


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INTRODUCTION. 


It  is  believed  that  many  will  be  gratified  to  possess  the  stand- 
ard Temperance  Tracts  published  by  the  American  Tract  So- 
ciety, in  this  neat  and  substantial  form ; whether  regard  be  had 
to  their  own  reading,  occasional  reference,  loaning,  or  selecting 
from  them  Tracts  for  general  distribution. 

Intelligent  readers  wilt  bear  in  mind,  that  the  freedom  of  the 
press  is  a price  put  into  their  hands,  not  only  to  gel  wisdom,  but  to 
impart  it  to  others  and  to  all;  and  that,  as  he  who  locks  up  the 
treasures  of  the  Gospel  in  his  own  breast,  and  makes  no  efforts 
to  impart  them,  is  but  a sorry  Christian  ; so  he  who  exults  in  his 
own  escape  from  the  poison  of  ardent  spirit,  but  does  nothing 
generously  to  rescue  others,  is  not  the  consistent  friend  of  man. 
The  Temperance  Reform  is  a glorious  era  in  our  history,  and  in 
the  history  of  the  world;  yet  it  is  to  be  considered  as  but  just 
commenced.  Millions  are  still  suffering  and  exposed  to  ruin  from 
the  effects  of  ardent  spirit,  and  millions  more  are  coming  on,  to 
be  alike  exposed  and  ruined  for  both  worlds,  should  the  friends  of 
Temperance  relax  their  efforts.  Under  these  impressions  the 
following  Tracts,  and  the  great  cause  they  advocate,  are  com- 
mended anew  to  an  enlightened  public  and  the  smiles  of  be- 
nignant Heaven. 


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■CONTENTS. 


Ko.  of  Tract. 

"'25.  Effects  of  Ardent  Spirit  on  the  body  and  mind. 
-ir2.  A Plantation  in  Ruins,  or  History  of  Peter  and 

John  Hay. 

125.  The  Traffic  in  Ardent  Spirit. 

159.  The  Rewards  of  Drunkenness. 

176.  The  Well-conducted  Farm 

221.  Address  on  the  Effects  of  Ardent  Spirits. 

233.  Appeal  to  American  Youth  on  Temperance.  . 

239.  Alarm  to  Distillers  and  their  Allies. 

240.  Putnam  and  the  Wolf.  .... 
242.  Argument  against  the  Manufacture  of  Ardent 

Spirit . 

244.  Address  to  Young  Men  of  the  United  States. 
247.  Who  slew  all  these  ? . . . . 

249.  Eflfects  of  Intemperance  on  the  intellectual, 
moral,  and  physical  powers.  . 

270.  Scripture  Argument  for  Temperance.  . 

2S8.  Four  Reasons  against  the  Use  of  Alcoholic 

Liquors,  ...... 

300.  Debates  of  Conscience  with  a Distiller,  a Whole- 


Dr.  Rush. 


Dr.  Edwards; 

Dr.  Edwards. 
I.  Kittredge. 
A.  Dickinson. 
. B.  Dickinson. 
. J.  Marsh. 

Prof.  Hitchcock. 
Bp.  M’llvaiae. 


. Dr.  Sewall. 
A.  Dickinson. 

Dr.  Gridley. 


sale  Dealer,  and  a Retailer. 


Pres’t  Humphrey. 


176089 


NO,  25, 


THE 

EFFECTS  OF  ARDEiXT  SPIRITS 

UPON 

THE  HVISAH  BOEV  ASTB  MXHD. 


BY  BKNJAMIN  RUSH,  M.  D. 


By  ardent  spirits,  I mean  those  liquors  only  which  are 
obtained  by  distillation  from  fermented  substances  of  any 
kind.  To  their  effects  upon  the  bodies  and  minds  of  men, 
the  following  inquiry  shall  he  exclusively  confined.  Eer-^ 
ir.ented  liquors  contain  so  little  spirit,  and  that  so  intimately 
combined  with  other  matters,  that  they  can  seldom  be  drunk- 
en in  sufficient  quantities  to  produce  intoxication  and  its  sub- 
sequent effects  without  exciting  a disrelish  to  their  taste, 
or  pain,  from  their  distending  the  stomach.  They  are,  more- 
over, when  taken  in  a moderate  quantity,  generally  innocent, 
and  often  have  a friendly  influence  upon  health  and  life. 

The  effects  of  ardent  spirits  divide  themselves  into  such 
as  are  of  a prompt,  and  such  as  are  of  a chronic  nature. 
The  former  discover  themselves  in  drunkenness ; and  the 
latter,  in  a numerous  train  of  diseases  and  vices  of  the  body 
and  mind. 

1.  I shall  begin  by  briefly  describing  their  prompt  or  im- 
mediate effects,  in  a fit  of  drunkenness. 

This  odious  disease  (for  by  that  name  it  should  be  called) 
appears  with  more  or  less  of  the  following  symptoms,  and 
most  commonly  in  the  order  in  which  I shall  enumerate 
them. 

1.  Unusual  garrulity 

2.  Unusual  silence. 

C.  Captiousness,  and  a disposition  to  quarrel. 


2 THE  EFFECTS  OF  ARDENT  SPIRITS  [2S2 

4.  Uncommon  good  humor,  and  an  insipid  simpering, 
or  laugh. 

5.  Profane  swearing  and  cursing. 

6.  A disclosure  of  their  own  or  other  people’s  secrets 

7.  A rude  disposition  to  tell  those  persons  in  company, 
whom  they  know,  their  faults. 

8.  Certain  immodest  actions.  I am  sorry  to  say  th  s 
sign  of  the  first  stage  of  drunkenness  sometimes  appears  in 
women,  who,  when  sober  are  uniformly  remarkable  for 
chaste  and  decent  manners. 

9.  A clipping  of  words. 

10.  Fighting ; a black  eye,  or  a swelled  nose,  often  mark 
this  grade  of  drunkenness. 

11.  Certain  extravagant  acts  which  indicate  a temporary 
fit  of  madness.  These  are  singing,  hallooing,  roaring,  imita- 
ting the  noises  of  brute  animals,  jumping,  tearing  off  clothes, 
dancing  naked,  breaking  glasses  and  china,  and  dashing 
other  articles  of  household  furniture  upon  the  ground  or 
floor.  After  a while  the  paroxysm  of  drunkenness  is  com- 
pletely formed.  The  face  now  becomes  flushed,  the  eyes 
project,  and  are  somewhat  watery,  winking  is  less  frequent 
than  is  natural ; the  under  lip  is  protruded — the  head  inclines 
a little  to  one  shoulder — the  Jaw  falls — belchings  and  hickup 
take  place — the  limbs  totter — the  whole  body  staggers.  The 
unfortunate  subject  of  this  history  next  falls  on  his  seat — he 
looks  around  him  with  a vacant  countenance,  and  mutters 
inarticulate  sounds  to  himself^ — he  attempts  to  rise  and  walk : 
in  this  attempt  he  falls  upon  his  side,  from  which  he  gradu- 
ally turns  upon  his  back : he  now  closes  his  eyes  and  falls 
into  a profound  sleep,  frequently  attended  with  snoring,  and 
profuse  sweats,  and  sometimes  with  such  a relaxation  of  the 
muscles  which  confine  the  bladder  and  the  lower  boweb,  as 
to  produce  a symptom  which  delicacy  farbids  me  to  men- 
tion. In  this  condition  he  often  lies  fiom  ten,  twelve,  and 
twenty-four  hours,  to  two,  three,  four,  and  five  days,  an  ob- 
ject of  pity  and  disgust  to  his  family  and  friends.  His  re- 
covery from  this  fit  of  intoxication  is  marked  with  several 
peculiar  appearances.  He  opens  his  eyes  and  closes  them 
again — he  gapes  and  stretches  his  limbs — he  then  coughs 
and  pukes — his  voice  is  hoarse — he  rises  with  difficulty,  and 
staggers  to  a chair — his  eyes  resemble  balls  of  fire — his  hands 
tremble — he  loathes  the  sight  of  food — he  calls  for  a glass 


283]  UPON  THE  HUMAN  BODY  AND  MIND. 


3 


of  spirits  to  compose  liis  stomach — now  and  then  he  emits 
a deep-fetched  sigli,  or  groan,  from  a transient  twinge  of 
conscience;  but  he  more  frequently  scolds,  and  curses 
every  thing  around  him.  In  this  state  of  languor  and  stu- 
pidity he  remains  for  two  or  three  days  before  he  is 
able  to  resume  his  former  habits  of  business  and  conver- 
sation. 

Pythagoras,  we  are  told,  maintained  that  the  souls  of  men 
after  death  expiated  the  crimes  committed  by  them  in  this 
world  by  animating  certain  brute  animals ; and  that  the 
souls  of  those  animals,  in  their  turns,  entered  into  men,  and 
carried  with  them  all  their  peculiar  qualities  and  vices.  This 
doctrine  of  one  of  the  wisest  and  best  of  the  Greek  philoso- 
phers, was  probably  intended  only  to  convey  a lively  idea 
of  the  changes  which  are  induced  in  the  body  and  mind  of 
man  by  a fit  of  drunkenness.  In  folly,  it  causes  him  to  re- 
semble a calf — in  stupidity,  an  ass — in  roaring,  a mad  bull — 
in  quarrelling  and  fighting,  a dog — in  cruelty,  a tiger — in 
fetor,  a skunk — in  filthiness,  a hog — and  in  obscenity,  a 
he-goat. 

It  belongs  to  the  history  of  drunkenness  to  remark,  that 
its  paroxj’sms  occur,  like  the  paroxysms  of  many  diseases,  at 
certain  periods,  and  after  longer  or  shorter  intervals.  They 
often  begin  with  annual,  and  gradually  increase  in  their 
frequency,  until  they  appear  in  quarterly,  monthly,  weekly, 
and  quotidian,  or  dail}'  periods.  Finally  they  afford  scarce- 
ly any  marks  of  remission  either  during  the  day  or  the  night. 
There  was  a citizen  of  Philadelphia,  many  years  ago,  in 
whom  drunkenness  appeared  in  this  protracted  form.  In 
speaking  of  him  to  one  of  his  neighbors,  I said,  “ Does  he 
not  somc/imes  get  drunk  1”  “You  mean,”  said  his  neigh- 
bor, “ is  he  not  sometimes  sober  V' 

It  is  further  remarkable,  that  drunkenness  resembles  cer- 
tain hereditary,  family,  and  contagious  diseases.  I have 
once  known  it  to  descend  from  a father  to  four  out  of  five 
of  his  children.  I have  seen  three,  and  once  four  brothers, 
who  were  born  of  sober  ancestors,  affected  by  it ; and  I have 
heard  of  its  spreading  through  a whole  family  composed 
of  members  not  originally  related  to  each  other.  These 
facts  are  important,  and  should  not  be  overlooked  by  pa- 
rents, in  deciding  upon  the  matrimonial  connexions  of  their 
children. 


4 


THK  EFFECTS  OF  AUDE;NT  SPIRITS 


[284 


II.  1 jCt  US  next  attend  to  llie  chronic  effects  of  ardent 
spirits  upon  the  body  and  mind.  In  the  body  tliey  dispose 
to  every  form  of  acute  disease  ; they  moreover  excile  fevers 
in  persons  predisposed  to  tliem  from  otiier  causes.  This 
has  been  remarked  in  all  the  yellow  fevers  which  have  visit- 
ed the  cities  of  the  United  States.  Hard  drinkers  seldom 
escape,  and  rarely  recover  from  them.  The  following  dis- 
eases are  the  usual  consequences  of  the  habitual  use  of  ar- 
dent spirits,  viz. 

1.  A decay  of  appetite,  sickness  at  stomach,  and  a puking 
of  bile,  or  a discharge  of  a frothy  and  viscid  phlegm,  by 
hawking,  in  the  morning. 

2.  Obstructions  of  the  liver.  The  fable  of  Prometheus, 
on  whose  liver  a vulture  was  said  to  prey  constantly  as  a 
punishment  for  his  stealing  lire  from  heaven,  was  intended 
to  illustrate  the  painful  effects  of  ardent  spirits  upon  that 
organ  of  the  body. 

3.  Jaundice,  and  dropsy  of  the  belly  and  limbs,  and  finally 
of  every  cavity  in  the  body.  A swelling  in  the  feet  and  legs 
is  so  characteristic  a mark  of  habits  of  intemperance,  that 
the  merchants  in  Charleston,  I have  been  told,  cease  to 
trust  the  planters  of  South  Carolina  as  soon  as  they  per- 
ceive it.  They  very  naturally  conclude  industrt'  and  virtue 
to  be  extinct  in  that  man,  in  whom  that  symptom  of  disease 
has  been  produced  by  the  intemperate  use  of  distilled  spirits. 

4.  Hoarseness,  and  a husky  cough,  which  often  terminate 
in  consumption,  and  sometimes  in  an  acute  and  fatal  disease 
of  the  lungs. 

5.  Diabetes,  that  is,  a frequent  and  weakening  discha.''ge 
of  pale  or  sweetish  urine. 

6.  Redness,  and  eruptions  on  different  parts  of  the  bod^'. 
They  generally  begin  on  the  nose,  and  after  graduallv  ex- 
tending all  over  the  face,  sometimes  descend  to  the  limbs  in 
the  form  of  leprosy.  They  have  been  called  “ Rum  buds,” 
when  they  appear  in  the  face.  In  persons  who  have  occa- 
sionally survived  these  effects  of  ardent  spirits  on  the  skin, 
the  face  after  a while  becomes  bloated,  and  its  redness  is 
succeeded  by  a death-like  paleness.  Thus,  the  same  fire 
which  produces  a red  colour  in  iron,  when  urged  to  a more 
intense  degree,  produces  what  has  been  called  a white  heat. 

7.  A fetid  breath,  composed  of  every  thing  that  is  oflen- 
sive  in  putrid  animal  matter. 


UPON  THE  HUMAN  BODY  AND  MIND. 


5 


8.  Frequent  and  disgusting  belcliings.  Dr.  Haller  relates 
the  case  of  a notorious  drunkard  having  been  suddenly  de- 
stroyed in  consequence  of  the  vapour  discharged  from  his 
stomach  by  belching,  accidentally  taking  fire  by  coming  in 
contact  with  the  flame  of  a candle. 

9.  Epilepsy. 

10.  Gout,  in  all  its  various  forms  of  swelled  limbs,  colic, 
pals}’’,  and  apoplexy. 

11.  Lastly,  madness.  The  late  Dr.  Waters,  while  he 
acted  as  house  pupil  and  apothecary  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Hospital,  assured  me,  that  in  one-third  of  the  patients  con- 
fined by  this  terrible  disease,  it  had  been  induced  by  ardent 
spirits. 

Most  of  the  diseases  which  have  been  enumerated  are  of 
a mortal  nature.  They  are  more  certainly  induced,  and  ter- 
minate more  speedily  in  death,  when  spirits  are  taken  in 
such  quantities,  and  at  such  times,  as  to  produce  frequent 
intoxication  ; but  it  may  serve  to  remove  an  error  with  which 
some  intemperate  people  console  themselves,  to  remark, 
that  ardent  spirits  often  bring  on  fatal  diseases  without  pro- 
ducing d)  unkenness.  I have  known  man}'  persons  destroyed 
by  them  who  were  never  completely  intoxicated  during  the 
whole  course  of  their  lives.  The  solitary  instances  of  lon- 
gevity which  are  now  and  then  met  with  in  hard  drinkers, 
no  more  disprove  the  deadly  effects  of  ardent  spirits  than 
the  solitary  instances  of  recoveries  from  apparent  death  by 
drowning,  prove  that  (here  is  no  danger  to  life  from  a hu- 
man body  lying  an  hour  or  two  under  water. 

The  body,  after  its  death,  from  the  use  of  distilled  spirits, 
exhibits,  by  dissection,  certain  appearances  which  are  of  a 
peculiar  nature.  The  fibres  of  the  stomach  and  bowels  are 
contracted — abscesses,  gangrene,  and  schirri  are  found  in 
the  viscera.  The  bronchial  vessels  are  contracted — (he 
blood-vessels  and  tendons  in  many  parts  of  the  body  are 
more  or  less  ossified,  and  even  the  hair  of  the  head  pos- 
sesses a crispness  which  renders  it  less  valuable  to  wig- 
makers  than  the  hair  of  sober  people. 

Not  less  destructive  are  the  effects  of  ardent  spirits  upon 
the  human  mind.  They  impair  the  memory,  debilitate  the 
understanding,  and  pervert  the  moral  faculties.  It  was  pro 
bably  from  observing  these  effects  of  intemperance  in  drink 
ing  upon  the  mind,  that  a law  was  formerly  passed  in  Spain 

Vol.  N 


6 


THE  EFFECTS  OF  ARDENT  SPIRITS 


[28G 


which  excluded  drunkards  from  being  witnesses  in  a court 
of  justice.  But  the  demoralizing  effects  of  distilled  spirits 
do  not  stop  here.  They  produce  not  only  falsehood,  but 
fraud,  theft,  uncleanliness,  and  murder.  Like  the  demoniac 
mentioned  in  the  New  Testament,  their  name  is  “ Legion,” 
for  they  convey  into  the  soul  a host  of  vices  and  crimes. 

A more  affecting  spectacle  cannot  be  exhibited  than  a 
person  into  whom  this  infernal  spirit,  generated  by  habits 
of  intemperance,  has  entered  : it  is  more  or  less  affecting, 
according  to  the  station  the  person  fills  in  a family,  or  in 
society,  who  is  possessed  by  it.  Is  he  a husband  1 How 
deep  the  anguish  which  rends  the  bosom  of  his  wife  ! Is  she 
a wife  I Who  can  measure  the  shame  and  aversion  which 
she  excites  in  her  husband  I Is  he  the  father,  or  is  she  the 
mother  of  a family  of  children!  See  their  averted  looks 
from  their  parent,  and  their  blushing  looks  at  each  other  ! 
Is  he  a magistrate?  or  has  he  been  chosen  to  fill  a high  and 
respectable  station  in  the  councils  of  his  country  r What 
humiliating  fears  of  corruption  in  the  administration  of  the 
laws,  and  of  the  subversion  of  public  order  and  happiness, 
appear  in  the  countenances  of  all  who  see  him  ! Is  he  a 
minister  of  the  Gospel  ? Here  language  fails  me.  If  angels 
weep — it  is  at  such  a sight. 

In  pointing  out  the  evils  produced  by  ardent  spirits,  let 
us  not  pass  by  their  effects  upon  the  estates  of  the  persons 
who  are  addicted  to  them.  Are  they  inhabitants  of  cities.^ 
Behold  ! their  houses  stripped  graduall}'  of  their  furniture, 
and  pawned,  or  sold  by  a constable,  to  pay  tavern  debts. 
See  ! their  names  upon  record  in  the  dockets  of  every  court, 
and  whole  pages  of  newspapers  filled  with  advertisements 
of  their  estates  for  public  sale.  Are  they  inhabitants  of  coun- 
try places  ? Behold  ! their  houses  with  shattered  windows — 
their  barns  with  leaky  roofs — their  gardens  overrun  with 
weeds — their  fields  with  broken  fences — their  hogs  without 
yokes — their  sheep  without  wool — their  cattle  and  horses 
without  fat — and  their  children,  filthy  and  half  clad,  without 
manners,  principles  and  morals.  This  picture  of  agricultu- 
ral wretchedness  is  seldom  of  long  duration.  The  farms 
and  property  thus  neglected  and  depreciated  are  seized 
and  sold  for  the  benefit  of  a group  of  creditors.  The  chil- 
dren that  were  born  with  the  prospect  of  inheriting  them 
are  bound  out  to  service  in  the  neighborhood  ; while  their 


287] 


UPON  THE  HUBIAN  BODY  AND  MIND. 


7 


parents,  tlie  unworthy  authors  of  their  misfortunes,  ramble 
into  new  and  distant  settlements,  alternately  fed  on  their 
way  by  the  hand  of  charity,  or  a little  casual  labor. 

Thus  we  see  poverty  and  miserj',  crimes  and  infamy, 
diseases  and  death,  are  all  the  natural  and  usual  conse- 
quences of  the  intemperate  use  of  ardent  spirits. 

I have  classed  death  among  the  consequences  of  hard 
diinking.  But  it  is  not  death  from  the  immediate  hand  of 
the  Deity,  nor  from  any  of  the  instruments  of  it  which  v/ere 
created  by  him  : it  is  death  from  suicide.  Yes — thou  poor 
degraded  creature  who  art  daily  lifting  the  poisoned  bowl 
to  thy  lips — cease  to  avoid  the  unhallowed  ground  in  which 
the  self-murderer  is  interred,  and  wonder  no  longer  t.hat  the 
sun  should  shine,  and  the  rain  fall,  and  the  grass  look  green 
upon  his  grave.  Thou  art  perpetrating,  graduallv,  by  the 
use  of  ardent  spirits,  what  he  has  efi'ected  suddenly  by 
opium  or  a halter.  Considering  how  many  circumstances 
from  surprise,  or  derangement,  may  palliate  his  guilt,  or  that 
(unlike  yours)  it  was  not  preceded  and  accompanied  by  any 
other  crime,  it  is  probable  his  condemnation  will  be  less 
than  yours  at  the  day  of  judgment. 

I shall  now  take  notice  of  the  occasions  and  circumstances 
which  are  supposed  to  render  liie  use  of  ardent  spirits  ne- 
cessary, and  endeavor  to  show  that  the  arguments  in  favor 
of  their  use  in  such  cases,  are  founded  in  error,  and  that  in 
each  of  them  ardent  spirits,  instead  of  affording  strength  to 
the  body,  increase  the  evils  they  are  intended  to  relieve. 

1.  They  are  said  to  be  necessar}'  in  very  cold  weather. 
This  is  far  from  being  true,  for  the  temporary  warmth  they 
produce  is  always  succeeded  by  a greater  disposition  in  the 
body  to  be  affected  by  cold.  Warm  dresses,  a plentiful  meal 
just  before  exposure  to  the  cold,  and  eating  occasionally  a 
little  gingerbread,  or  any  other  cordial  food,  is  a much  more 
durable  method  of  preserving  the  heat  of  the  body  in  cold 
weather. 

2.  They  are  said  to  be  necessary  in  very  warm  weather. 
Experience  proves  that  they  increase  instead  of  lessening 
the  effects  of  heat  upon  the  body,  and  thereby  dispose  to 
diseases  of  all  kinds.  Even  in  the  warm  climate  of  the  West 
Indies,  Dr.  Bell  asserts  this  to  be  true.  “ Rum,”  says  this 
author,  “ whether  used  habitually,  moderately,  or  in  exces- 
sive quantities  in  the  West  Indies,  always  diminishes  the 


8 


THE  EFFECTS  OF  ARDENT  SPIRITS,  &c. 


Strength  of  the  body,  and  renders  men  more  susceptible  of 
disease,  and  unfit  for  any  service  in  which  vigor  or  activity 
is  required.”*  As  well  might  we  throw  oil  into  a house,  the 
roof  of  which  was  on  fire,  in  order  to  prevent  the  flames 
from  extending  to  its  inside,  as  pour  ardent  spirits  into  the 
stomach  to  lessen  the  effects  of  a hot  sun  upon  the  skin. 

3.  Nor  do  ardent  spirits  lessen  the  effects  of  hard  labor 
upon  the  body.  Look  at  the  horse,  with  every  muscle  of 
liis  body  swelled  from  morning  till  night  in  the  plough,  or  a 
team ; does  he  make  signs  for  a draught  of  toddy,  or  a glass 
of  spirits,  to  enable  him  to  cleave  the  ground,  or  to  climb  a 
hill.^  No — he  requires  nothing  but  cool  water  and  substan- 
tial food.  There  is  no  nourishment  in  ardent  spirits.  The 
strength  they  |noduce  in  labor  is  of  a transient  nature,  and 
is  always  followed  by  a sense  of  weakness  and  fatigue. 

* See  his  “ Inquiry  into  the  causes  which  produce,  and  the  means 
of  preventing  diseases,  among  British  othcers,  soldiers,  and  others,  in 
the  \Vest  Indies.” 


WANGEK  FRC31  ARDENT  SPIRITS. 

Lvery  man  is  in  danger  of  becoming  a drunkard  who  is 
in  the  habit  of  drinking  ardent  spirits — 1.  When  he  is  warm. 
2.  When  he  is  cold.  3.  Wlien  he  is  wet.  4.  When  he  is 
dry.  5.  When  he  is  dull.  6.  When  he  is  lively.  7.  When 
he  travels.  8.  When  he  is  at  home.  9.  When  he  is  in 
company.  10.  Wlien  he  is  alone.  11.  When  he  is  at  work. 
12.  When  he  is  idle.  13.  Before  meals.  14.  After  meals. 
15.  When  he  gets  up.  16.  When  he  goes  to  bed.  17.  On 
holidays.  18.  On  public  occasions.  19.  On  any  day;  or, 
20.  On  any  occasion. 


END. 


mo4 112 


HISTORY 

OF 

FETEB.  AND  JOHN  HAY. 


" Like  one  distracted,  poor  Mrs.  Hay  rushed  to  the  fire  to  save  her 

husband.”— See  po^-e  10. 


PUBLISHED  BY  THE 

AMERICAN  TRACT  SOCIETY, 

ASD  SOLD  AT  THEIR  DEPOSITORY,  NO.  150  NA9SAU-STREET,  NEAR 
THE  CITY-HALL,  NEW-YORK!  AND  BY  AGENTS  OF  THE 
SOCIETY,  ITS  BRANCHES,  AND  AUXILIARIES,  IN 
THE  PRINCIPAL  CITIES  AND  TOWNS 
IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


PETER  AND  JOHN  HAY. 


Peter  and  John  Hay  were  brothers.  John  remained 
single,  but  Peter  v/as  married,  and  had  become  the  father 
of  a little  son.  Their  prospects  in  life  were  highly'  prom- 
ising. By  wisely  improving  the  fruits  of  their  father's  la- 
bours, they  were  growing  rich  ; and  by  freely  i.mparting 
of  their  riches  in  acts  of  hospitality,  they  had  rendered 
themselves  very  dear  to  all  their  neighbours.  John,  the 
younger  and  single  brother,  lived  with  his  father  : but 
Peter  and  his  wife,  with  their  liitle  son,  lived  by  them- 
selves. For  convenience  sake  they  had  chosen  different 
houses  to  live  in,  yet  it  might  well  be  said  of  them  that 
they  lived  together;  for  their  houses  were  not  farther 
apart  than  just  served  for  a pleasant  walk,  -which  was  al- 
most every  day  indulged,  either  by  the  old  gentleman  go- 
ing over  to  see  and  play  with  his  little  grandson,  or  by  his 
mother  fondly  carrying  the  child  over  to  prattle  with  his 
grandfather.  Shaded  by  the  I'ustling  trees,  and  fanned  by 
every  breeze  of  summer,  their  liouses  stood  on  the  gi-ace- 
ful  ridge  that  bounds  on  the  north  the  great  valley'  of  the 
Congaree,  wmile  below,  far  stretching  to  the  river,  lay 
their  fruitful  fiebls,  covered  over  with  bursting  pods  of 
cotton,  white  as  the  driven  snow ; and  on  either  side,  a 
wilderness  of  corn,  with  lusty  shocks,  gratefully  pointing  to 
heaven.  The  silver  flood  that  embosomed  their  planta- 
tion was  stored  with  fish  and  wild  fowl  of  many  a savoury 
sort.  Their  numerous  herds  poured  them  forth  milk  in 
foaming  pailsfull,  while,  from  the  flowers  that  perfumed 
both  held  and  forest,  the  ever  busy  bees  supplied  them 
yearly  with  hives  of  honey-comb. 

O J avoured  family  1 the  reader  is  ready  to  exclaim  ; 
thrice  favoured^  whose  lines  are  cast  in  such  pleasant 
places'  Sure  they  will  improve  the  bounties  of  their  God, 
and  secure  to  themselves  a felicity  proportionate  to  such 
opportunities.  Doubtless  each  morn,  mild  as  it  opens,  will 
attest  their  waking  joys ; and  every'  day,  bright  as  it  rolls 


PETER  AND  JOHN  HAY. 


3 


231  j 


along,  will  mark  their  cheerful  toils  ; crowning  with  grat- 
itude each  mercy  of  the  present  life,  and  looking  forward 
with  hope  to  the  better  blessings  of  the  next.  Such  was 
the  result  to  have  been  hoped  for,  and  such,  indeed,  to 
have  been  expected,  by  all  who  beheld  their  distinguished 
lot.  But  alas!  what  avails  it  to  put  good  into  the  hands 
of  those  who  know  not  its  worth  ? Wisdom  to  understand 
our  benefits,  and  gratitude  to  adore  the  Benefactor, — these 
are  the  only  essentials  of  happiness.  But,  alas!  Peter  and 
John  Play  possessed  not  these  essentials  ; 

“ Knowledofe,  to  them,  her  ample  page, 

Rich  with  the  spoils  of  time,  had  ne’er  displayed.” 

They  considered  not  the  many  gloomy  regions  of  the 
earth  bound  in  eternal  ice  and  snow.  How  then  could 
they  enjoy  their  own  favoured  clime,  where  nature  crowns 
the  copious  year  with  fruits  and  golden  grain  ? 

And  still  less  did  they  consider  Him,  the  Great  Author 
of  all,  whom,  in  all  his  wondrous  works,  to  contemplate, 
with  ever  admiring,  ever  adoring  delight,  constitutes  our 
only  heaven  upon  earth.  For  lack  of  this,  what  wonder 
they  should  have  turned  to  the  garbage  of  the  world  ! And 
disappointed  there  of  true  pleasure,  what  wonder  they 
should  have  seized  the  false  pleasures  of  the  intoxicating 
Clip  ! 

Great  was  the  grief  of  their  neighbours,  when  they  be- 
held these  young  men  yielding  themselves  up  the  slaves 
of  intemperance,  and,  for  so  ignoble  a vice,  tarnishing  the 
lustre  of  their  long  respected  names. 

But  greater  still  the  grief  of  their  aged  father.  Lovely 
in  his  eyes  had  shone  the  cheeks  of  his  beys,  all  reddened 
over  with  the  roses  of  youth.  To  see  those  dear  cheeks 
inflamed,  though  with  hut  an  innocent  fever,  had  often 
wrung  his  heart;  then,  oh!  how  passing  the  bitterness 
of  death,  to  see  them  swollen  and  ghastly  red  with  infla- 
ming liquors.  Divorced  from  the  world  by  his  gray  hairs, 
he  had  wisely  confined  himself  to  the  society  of  his  chil- 
dren, fondly  hoping  in  their  aft'ections  to  forget  the  world’s 
neglect ; in  their  bloom  to  see  his  youth  renewed  ; and  in 
their  virtues,  his  own  name  immortalized.  Ah ! who  but 
a parent  can  conceive  his  grief,  when  he  saw  those  dear- 


4 


PETER  ANn  JOHN  HAY. 


L232 

est  hopes  of  nature  all  blasted  for  ever ! With  cheeks 
bathed  in  tears,  he  sat  in  the  silence  of  his  silver  locks, 
^oing  (loivn  in  sorrow  to  his  grave. 

But  there  \vas  one  whose  grief  w’as  far  more  pungent 
still.  1 mean  the  young  wife  of  Mr.  Peter  Hay.  Wedded 
to  her  husband  by  the  tenderest  ties  of  love,  and  therefore 
••  tremblingly  alive”  to  his  interest  and  honour,  the  first 
time  she  saw  her  husband  deformed  by  intemperance,  she 
turned  pale  with  terror.  Her  fears,  however,  at  first 
were  soothed  with  hope.  But  when  she  found  that,  in 
spite  of  all  her  tears  and  all  his  own  promises,  he  still 
continued,  time  after  time,  to  come  home  stupified  and 
staggering  with  drink,  she  yielded  herself  up  to  despair. 
Like  a young  widow  by  her  husband’s  grave,  she  often  sat 
by  his  bedside,  deeply  revolving  her  early  blasted  hopes, 
and  the  sad  change  that  had  passed  in  her  late  happy  fam- 
ily. 

Till  of  late  he  had  always  returned  from  Court,  with 
looks  brightened  with  the  double  joy  of  conscious  integ- 
rity nod  love  ; till  of  late,  with  her  little  son  in  her  hand, 
sire  hail  ahvavs  flown  to  welcome  his  return,  and  accom- 
pany him  to  the  parlour.  There,  leaning  on  his  bosom, 
with  her  boy  in  her  lap,  she  was  wont  to  listen,  delighted, 
to  his  sprightly  voice,  as  he  related  the  pleasant  occurren- 
ces of  the  day. 

But  now,  alas ! those  happy  scenes  are  no  more.  Now, 
whenever  he  comes  home,  it  is  in  a reeling  gait,  and  his 
face  is  marked  with  the  sullen  iVown  of  conscious  guilt. 

Returning  from  court  one  night,  rather  more  disguised 
than  usual,  he  had  not  strength  to  gain  the  door,  but  trip- 
ping at  the  last  step,  he  fell  forward  sprawling  into  the 
piaz/.a.  His  little  son  was  not  yet  put  to  bed,  though  the 
hour  was  late,  hut  stood,  heavy-eyed  and  nodding,  at  the 
knees  ot'  his  mother,  who,  with  an  aching  heart,  was  sitting 
up,  waiting  for  her  husband’s  return.  Hearing  the  noise 
of  his  heavy  fall,  and  suspecting  what  it  was,  she  cried  out, 
“ Oh  ! mj  God  /”  and  snatching  a catidle,  ran  to  the  door. 
Her  little  son  followed.  On  reaching  the  door,  she  beheld 
a spectacle  too  |)aint'ul  to  he  presented  before  the  fancy  of 
the  reader — What  then  was  it  for  the  eyes  of  an  aiTectioQ' 
ate  wife  ' 


233] 


PETKR  AND  JOHN  HAY 


b 


The  next  morning,  red  faced  and  snoring  like  an  apo- 
jdectic  patient,  he  lay  till  late.  Poor  Mrs.  Hay,  pale  and 
dee[)!y  sighing,  le/t  her  sleepless  bed,  and  leading  her  lit- 
tle son  by  the  ha-nd,  waliced  downstairs,  sad  and  silent,  to 
the  parlour.  Tiie  child  had  not  yet  learned  to  know  the 
cause  of  this  change,  but  he  felt  that  the  present  morning 
Avas  not  joyful  like  the  past,  and  he  wept. 

The  breakfast -table  was  set,  spread  with  snow-white 
fiiaper,  and  covered  with  a set  of  purest  china,  and  tea-pots 
and  sugar  dishes  of  solid  silver.  On  the  marble  hearth, 
before  a lire  of  hickory,  glittered  acotfee-pot  of  the  same 
precious  metal,  waiting  the  reception  of  the  family. 

But  nothing  could  divert  the  settled  melancholy  of  poor 
Mrs.  H.ay.  With  her  child  at  her  knees,  and  her  fore- 
head leaning  on  the  back  of  the  chair,  like  a statue,  dumb 
^vith  grief,  she  sat  regardless  of  all  but  her  own  hapless 
lot — her  husband’s  sore  disgrace,  and  the  ruin  impendent 
over  herself  and  child.  Often,  as  borne  along  the  stream 
of  mournful  thought,  she  would  deeply  groan  and  heave, 
the  most  piercing  sighs;  then,  stooping  down  to  her  little 
son,  s-he  would  kiss  him  and  press  him  to  her  bosom,  wa- 

tering*  his  chcckc  with  hei  Ip.jxrS. 

About  twelve  o’clock,  her  husband  came  down  stairs, 
and  in  sullen  silence  entered  the  parlour ; but,  oh!  how 
changed  liom  the  temperate  and  elegant  Mr.  Hay,  of  a 
few  months  ago  ! Whoever  saw  him  then,  bright  in  the 
pure  robes  of  innocence  and  joy,  without  adoring  the 
charm  of  virtue  ? Who  could  see  him  now,  long  bearded, 
with  red  eyes  and  carbuncled  face,  but  must  lift  the  pity- 
ing eye,  and  sighingly  exclaim,  “ Jllas  ! my  brother 

Poor  Mrs.  Hay ! She  marked  the  woful  change,  and 
wept.  The  child  ran  and  stretched  his  little  arms  to  his 
father,  who  took  him  up  and  kissed  him. 

“O  Pa!”  said  the  lisping  angel,  with  his  arms  around 
his  neck,  “ you  don’t  know  how  I did  cry  for  you  last 
night.  Pa.” 

“ Cry  for  me,  my  baby,  what  made  you  cry  for  me  ?” 

“ O Pa,  1 did  cry  for  you  because  you  were  so  sick.  Pa ; 
what  did  make  you  so  sick.  Pa  ?” 

He  could  make  no  answer  to  his  son,  but,  deeply  blush- 
ing and  confused,  looked  up  to  his  w'ife. 


6 


PETER  AND  JOHN  lUY. 


[234 


The  words  of  the  child,  with  the  guilty  looks  of  her 
husband,  overcame  her;  with  eyes  rolling  in  tears,  she 
gave  him  one  melting  look,  and  suddenly  turning  aside  her 
face,  burst  into  a loud  cry. 

Hearing  the  cries  of  his  mother,  the  child  slipped  from 
his  father’s  lap,  and  running  to  her  knees,  joined  his  art- 
less cries  with  hers.  The  scene  was  too  much  for  poor 
Mr.  Hay  ; pale  and  silent  with  anguish,  he  got  up  and 
went  to  the  door,  and  there,  as  he  wiped  the  trickling  tears 
from  his  face,  a thousand  and  a thousand  times  did  he  wish 
he  was  dead.  Her  tears  flowed  afresh.  Moved  by  her 
cries,  he  went  and  sat  dowm  by  her  side,  and  embraced 
her.  But  alas  ! it  was  not  that  fond  and  hearty  embrace 
iii  which  conscious  innocence  is  wont  to  clasp  its  beloved 
object.  It  was  the  sad  approach  of  guilt  to  innocence; 
constrained  and  shy. 

With  her  face  still  turned  away,  she  continued  to  weep. 
He  entreated  her  to  Le  composed,  assuring  her  that  this 
was  the  last  time ; for  that  he  would  never  give  her  cause 
of  sorrow  any  more.  She  turned  towards  him,  and  throw- 
ing her  arms  around  his  neck,  with  her  cheek  on  his  bosom, 
bathed  with  tears,  cried  aloud,  Ob,  my  husband ! Don’t 
promise  so  any  more.  How  often  have  you  promised  me 
so  before  ; and  yet  you  go  on  to  break  my  heart.  You 
wish  you  were  dead  ; Oh  ! it  is  7 who  should  wish  to  die ; 
and  were  it  not  for  my  child,  glad  should  I be  to  die  this 
very  night.  Yes,  but  for  the  pain  of  leaving  him  a poor  or- 
phan, gladly  would  I lie  down  and  part  with  all  my  sorrows 
this  night  in  the  grave.” 

At  this,  he  tenderly  embraced  and  kissed  her,  repeat- 
ing his  assurances  that  he  would  never,  never  more, 
her  cause  of  grief.  “ Besides,”  continued  he,  “ I am  the 
person  that  ought  to  weep,  and  not  you.  1 am  the  one 
that  has  played  the  fool,  and  disgraced  myself ; but  you,  in- 
nocent and  good  as  you  are,  what  cause  have  you  of  grief?” 

“ Oh,  said  she,  eagerly  looking  at  him,  how  little  do  you 
know  of  my  heart ! 1 w'as  young  when  I married  you ; 

was  called  handsome,  and  thought  rich  ; what  then  could 
have  induced  me  to  make  you  my  husband,  but  afl'ection  ? 
How  then,  without  distraction,  can  I see  the  dishonour  that 
you  are  bringing  upon  yourself,  and  also  the  certain  rum  of 
myself  and  your  jioor  unoffending  child  ?” — 


235] 


rETER  ANI>  JOHN  HAY. 


“ O no  ! my  dear,”  rejoined  he,  interrupting  her,  “that 
I deny.  I agree  I do  dishonour  myself,  and  am  truly  asham- 
ed of  it;  hut  as  to  bringing  ruin  upon  you  and  our  dear 
child,  that’s  all  out  of  the  question;  I shall  keep  clear 
enough  of  that.” 

“ Oh,  my  dear  husband,”  replied  she,  “I  pray  you,  don’t 
flatter  yourself  any  more  with  that  hope.  It  is  a tiital,  fatal 
hope,  that  has  ruined  thousands,  and  will,  I fear,  ruin  you  anti 
3mur  family  too.  How  hard  is  it  for  a man  to  thrive  with 
all  his  industry  and  wits  about  him  ! Then  how  can  it  be 
done  by  one  who  is  stupified  and  palsied  by  hard  drink  ? 
You  know  that  after  a single  night  of  intemperance  you 
are  sick  for  several  days,  ai  unfit  for  business  ; and  even 
when  you  return  to  it  again,  „is  not  with  that  delight  which 
jmu  formerly  manifested  in  it.  And  it  makes  me  mourn, 
to  think  what  a sad  change  has  taken  place  in  you  in  that 
respect.  Formerly  you  seemed  never  happy  but  at  home. 
Myself  and  3mur  little  son,  with  your  plantation  and  the 
improvement  of  it,  seemed  to  make  all  your  paradise.  It 
appeared  as  though  you  wanted  nothing  more.  Your 
looks  bespoke  the  most  perfect  contentment  and  cheer- 
fulness. And,  O how  often  and  how  heartily  did  I thank 
God,  that,  while  so  many  other  husbands  were  not  satis- 
fied with  their  wives,  you  were  so  well  satisfied  with  me ; 
that  while  so  many  other  husbands  ivere  constantly  run- 
ning to  taverns  and  company  for  pleasure,  3'ou  appeared 
to  look  for  pleasure  no  where  but  in  me  and  your  little 
family.  But  now,  lilas!  that  for  which  1 so  often  pitied 
others,  is  come  upon  me  also.  You  seem  never  to  be 
happy  with  us  now.  When  you  stay  at  home,  it  seems 
only  to  be  that  you  may  get  well  of  3"our  sickness  ; and 
as  soon  as  you  are  well  again,  you  appear  w’retched  at 
home.  Your  vivacity  is  gone.  Contentment  has  left 
3'our  countenance.  You  sit  silent,  or  mope  about,  as  if 
you  wanted  something  you  Sannot  find  at  home.  And 
then  you  order  your  horse,  and  go  away,  leaving  me  here, 
Avith  my  little  son,  to  solitude  and  distraction.  Oh,  how 
can  I bear  to  drag  out  life,  weeping,  and  broken-hearted 
as  I have  been,  ever  since  you  took  to  this  fatal  course ! 
Oh,  when  I look  back  to  the  happy  days  so  lately  past ; 
w'hen  I think  how  enviable  above  all  Avomen  Avas  mj"  lot ; 


8 


PETER  AND  JOHN  HAY. 


[236 

my  dear  husband,  young,  handsome,  and  affectionate  ; my 
estate  ample,  and  still  becoming  more  so  by  bis  virtues, 
and  my  little  son  daily  growing  up  the  sweet  atid  smiling 
image  of  his  father!  This,  but  a few  short  months  ago, 
was  my  prospect ; all  bright  with  honour  and  happiness. 
But,  oh  ! where  is  it  now  ? All  overcast  and  darkened  for 
ever ! 1 have  no  comfort,  no  hope  in  any  thing  around 
me.  If  I look  at  you,  my  heart  bleeds  ; your  face  is  bloat- 
ed, your  eyes  are  red,  your  whole  air  melancholy  and  sad. 
If  1 lock  at  my  son,  it  sets  my  heart  a bleeding,  he  is  so 
changed;  he  never  plays  now  as  he  did.  You,  who  once 
so  delighted  in  him,  have  forsaken  him.  1 am  alws3'8 
w’eeping.  He  feels  himself  a poor  forlorn  child,  and  often 
comes  and  stands  at  my  knees,  and  cries  as  it  he  would 
break  his  heart.  And  indeed,  ^vere  he  to  smile  and  laugh, 
he  ivould  make  me  weep  to  think  what  evils  are  coming 
upon  him.  1 see  gamblers  and  sharpers  crowding  around 
}'ou  ; pressing  yo\i  to  drink,  getting  you  tipsy,  winning 
your  money,  and  then  taking  your  notes.  I never  look  at 
you  riding  away  from  the  house,  but  1 feel  a deadly'  sick- 
ness at  heart ; I feel  a sad  foreboding  that  1 shall  never 
see  y'ou  again.  A thousand  times  a day  do  1 see  you  killed 
by  your  horse,  or  drowned  in  the  deep  waters,  or  dying 
of  some  of  those  deaths  by  which  men  in  their  cups  gene- 
rally' perish.  Then  I see  the  creditors  coming  to  tear  ev- 
ery thing  from  us,  selling  all  over  our  heads,  and  turning 
my  poor  boy  and  myself  out  of  house  and  home,  to  starve 
or  beg.  Oh  I why  was  1 ever  born  ; Or  why  did  I not  die 
before  I ever  came  to  see  such  woful  days  as  these  !” 

Here  she  burst  into  piercing  cries.  Her  husband,  poor 
wretch ! in  the  mean  time  stood  looking  on,  sobbing,  and 
promising  great  amendments. 

For  a lew  days  he  kept  his  promise  ; which  sprung  a 
fresh  dawn  of  hope  in  the  bosom  of  this  excellent  woman. 
But,  alas  I all  his  promised'  reformation  was  but  as  the 
morning  dew  before  the  burning  sun.  At  the  very'  next 
court  he  was  ensnared  by  a pack  of  gambler's,  who  get- 
ting him  tipsy,  won  his  money,  horse,  saddle,  bridle,  and 
great  coat ! Some  short  time  afterwards,  on  his  way  from 
Charleston,  where  it  rvas  understood  he  had  received  a 
sum  of  money',  he  was  decoyed  by'  the  same  gang  of  sharp- 


237] 


TETER  AND  JOHN  HAY. 


9 


crs,  who  got  him  drunk,  and  won  eight  hundred  dollars  of 
liim.  In  this  way  he  would  no  douht  have  broken  his 
wife’s  heart,  and  beggared  his  boy,  had  not  God  in  his 
providence  prevented  it,  by  suddenly  taking  him  away, 
and  also  his  brother  John  ; and  in  a manner  which,  1 pray 
God,  may  strike  terror  in  the  hearts  of  all  who  read  this 
awful  story. 

Their  fields  near  the  river,  as  I have  said,  brought 
forth  plenteously,  insomuch  that,  like  the  man  in  the  Gos- 
pel, they  began  to  be  at  a loss  where  “ lo  hestorv  their 
fruits,  and  their  goodsd’’  I know  not  that  they  pulled  down 
their  old  barns,  but  it  is  certain  they  built  a large  new 
barn,  in  one  end  of  which  they  finished  an  apartment  for 
their  overseer.  In  tliis  apartment  they  found  their  de- 
struction. Fearing  to  get  drunk  at  home,  and  yet  so  en- 
slaved to  strong  drink  tliat  tliey  could  not  live  without  it, 
they  came  to  the  resolution  to  keep  a jug  ot’  l um  in  their 
barn.  On  a cold  and  very  windy  morrdng  in  Hlarch,  they 
went  down,  at  an  early  hour,  to  the  barn;  and,  using 
the  cold  as  a [)lea  for  a dram,  they  wont  on  drui/uning  it, 
and  dramining  it,’’’’  till  they  got  perfectly  drunk,  and  fell 
down  witl'.out  sense  or  motion  on  the  tloor.  In  this  aovful 
moment  the  building  took  fire  1 owing,  as  was  said,  to  the 
carelessness  of  an  old  negro  woman,  who  had  hobbled  that 
morning  with  her  pipe  in  her  moutli  into  the  barn,  which 
contained  a large  quantity  of  hackled  Iienq).  The  first 
thing  that  struck  the  attention  of  the  negroes  at  work  in 
the  fields,  as  also  of  old  Mr.  Hay  and  his  excellent  daugh- 
ter-in-law, was  a {irodigious  smoke  issuing  in  black  vol- 
umes from  the  barn.  Instantly,  from  all  parts  of  the  plan- 
tation, there  was  a violent  runiung  together  of  the  fam- 
ily, white  and  black,  to  save  the  barn.  But  all,  alas!  too 
slow  ; for  scarcely  had  they  got  half  ^vay,  before  they  be- 
lield  the  tlames  bursting  out  from  all  sides  of  the  building, 
with  a noise  like  thunder.  Though  aghast  with  horror  and 
despair,  they  still  continued  lo  run  as  fast  as  they  could 
cowards  the  dreadful  contlagration,  and  there,  around  the 
raging  element,  amidst  mingled  shrieks  and  screams,  noth- 
ing was  to  be  heard  but,  “ Where  is  young  masters  “ Oh, 
jny  children!  wy  children  I'' — Aly  htishand  ! Oh,  nnj  hus- 
band “ Oh,  Pu  / Pa  I Pa 
Vol.  4. 


L 


10 


PETER  AND  JOHN  HAY. 


[238 


Presently  they  were  presented  with  a spectacle  almost 
too  shocking  to  relate.  Through  the  red  billowy  fiamesj 
which,  driven  by  the  fury  of  the  wind,  had  now  complete- 
ly encircled  the  apartment,  and  burst  open  the  door,  they 
distinctly  beheld  these  wretched  brothers  lying  dead- 
drunk  and  helpless  on  the  floor,  and  the  fire  rapidly  seiz- 
ing on  every  thing  around  them.  Like  one  distracted, 
poor  Mrs.  Hay  rushed  to  the  fire  to  save  her  husband. 
But  the  forbidding  flames,  with  scorching  blast  on  her 
face,  struck  her  back,  senseless  and  suffocated,  to  the 
ground. 

The  negroes,  too,  roused  to  the  utmost  by  their  strong 
sympathies,  made  many  daring  efforts  to  save  their  young 
masters,  but  in  vain ; for  after  getting  miserably  scorch- 
ed, they  were  compelled  to  give  them  up;  and,  with 
bleeding  hearts,  to  behold  the  flames  kindling  upon  them. 
Built  of  combustible  materials,  the  barn  was  quickly  re- 
duced to  ashes,  which  being  speedily  swept  away  by  the 
violence  of  the  wind,  left  the  hapless  pair  lying  side  by 
side,  pale,  chalky  skeletons  on  the  whitened  earth. 


Thus  ends  this  most  affecting  narrative.  How  applica- 
ble are  the  words  of  the  inspired  Apostle  to  the  wretch- 
ed and  awful  case  of  these  miserable  men,  “ The  end  of 
these  things  is  death !”  The  vice  that  destroyed  them  is 
one  especially  suited  to  the  design  of  him  “ who,  like  a 
roaring  lion,  goeth  about  seeking  whom  he  may  devour.” 
By  it,  the  understanding  is  blinded,  and  the  conscience 
bribed,  or  ” seared  as  with  a hot  iron.”  Even  the  com- 
mon affections  of  nature  are  deadened,  and  often  utterly 
destroyed  ; so  that,  in  not  a few  instances,  men,  and  wo- 
men too,  have  sunk  even  below  brutality,  and  have  lost 
all  feeling  and  concern  for  their  dearest  relations  and 
tender  offspring ! Ah!  how  many  have  set  out  on  the 
journey  of  life  with  delightful  prospects  before  them, 
who  yet  have  been  caught  in  this  snare  of  the  infernal 
fowler,  out  of  which  so  few  escape  I O ! who  can  con- 
ceive of  the  many  dreadful  consequences  of  drunkenness, 
both  temporal  and  eternal ! It  has  destroyed  the  health, 


239] 


PKTER  AND  JOHN  HAY. 


11 


and  beggared  the  families,  and  ruined  the  souls  of  thou- 
sands. 

Reader,  are  you  a temperate  drinker  ? If  so,  remem- 
ber, that  whenever  you  apply  the  glass  to  your  lips,  you 
are  forming  an  unnatural  appetite,  which,  by  a law  of 
your  nature,  will  increase  the  more  it  is  cherished,  and 
threatens  to  destroy  you.  Your  only  safety  is  in  total 
abstinence  from  all  intoxicating  drinks.  Receive  the 
above  affecting  narrative  as  a friendly  caution  ! Reflect 
on  the  awful  condition  of  those  who,  by  the  insidious 
progress  of  this  sin,  have  blasted  every  fair  prospect  for 
this  life,  and  plunged  themselves  into  a miserable  eter- 
nity. Go  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  for  strength  to  resist 
this  and  every  temptation.  Commit  your  soul  and  all 
your  ways  to  him.  Hear  his  tender  expostulations  : 
“ Seek^e  the  Lord,  while  he  may  be  found,  call  ye  upon 
him,  while  he  is  near.”  “ Let  the  wicked  forsake  his 
way,  and  the  unrighteous  man  his  thoughts  ; and  let  him 
return  unto  the  Lord,  and  he  will  have  mercy  upon  him, 
and  to  our  God,  for  he  will  abundantly  pardon.”  “ If 
thou  art  wise,  thou  shalt  he  luise  for  thyself;  hut  if  thou 
scornest,  thou  alone  shalt  hear  it.'’ 


MEDICATED  DRINKS. 

In  one  of  the  northern  towns  in  the  state  of  New-York 
considerable  excitement  has  been  occasioned  by  a recent 
development  on  the  part  of  a spirit  merchant,  which  has 
given  the  cause  of  temperance  a new  impulse,  and  shown 
to  moderate  drinkers,  and  to  drunkards,  that 

“ There  may  be  in  the  cup  a spider  steeped 

and  if  the  abhorred  ingredient  be  not  presented  to  the 
eye,  a man  may  drink  and  drink  again,  and  go  from  year 
to  year  with  the  poison  rankling  in  his  veins,  unconscious 
of  the  cause  which  unnerves  his  limbs,  and  pollutes  all 

2 


12 


PETER  AND  JOHN  HAY. 


[240 


his  springs  of  happiness.  Tlie  merchant  alluded  to  ob- 
served, that  after  selling  out  a cask  of  spirit  there  re- 
mained several  gallons  of  foul,  unsightly  sediment,  which 
on  examination  was  found  to  consist  of  various  drugs, 
some  that  could  be  distinguished  and  some  that  could 
not,  but  all  judged  unfit  for  the  use  of  human  beings. 
These  vile  compounds  had  been  infused  in  the  liquor  to 
' give  to  a spurious  article  the  appearance  of  genuineness. 
Such  are  the  elfects  of  a traffic  founded  in  a dishonest 
and  ungenerous  disregard  to  the  best  interests  of  the 
community — a traffic  whose  object,  end,  and  aim,  are  the 
aggrandizement  of  self,  at  whatever  cost  to  the  welfare 
of  others ! 

Did  moderate  drinkers  and  drunkards  know  bow  often 
what  they  drink  is  not  what  it  is  called,  but  a horrible 
rni.xture  of  noxious  ingredients,  would  they  swallow  these 
medicated  draughts  with  the  same  reckless  indifference 
th^t  they  now  do  ? Investigations  are  going  forward, 
which  it  is  hoped  will  expose  the  system  of  frauds  and 
adulterations,  bring  to  light  the  receits  for  the  fabrica- 
tion of  high-priced  liquors,  and  the  numberless  abuses 
inseparable  from  a traffic  in  its  nature  immoral.  When 
this  development  shall  take  place  the  moderate  drinker, 
the  drunkard,  and  the  community  at  large,  will  have  a 
better  opportunity  to  judge  of  the  nature  of  the  traffic 
against  which  we  feel  it  our  duty  to  lift  up  a warning 
voice.  Against  a traffic  so  destructive  of  life,  so  fatal  to 
happiness,  so  blighting  in  its  influence  on  national  and 
individual  prosperity,  our  duty  to  our  Maker,  to  out- 
raged humanity,  and  to  the  cause  we  advocate,  compels, 
us  to  array  ourselves,  determined  on  an  opposition  which 
shall  be  unending  while  the  evil  exists  in  our  land. 


Temperance  Recorder. 


sro.  i&B. 


ON  THE 

TRAFFIC  IN  ARDENT  SPIRIT. 


Ardent  spirit  is  composed  of  alcohol  and  water,  in 
nearly  equal  proportions.  Alcohol  is  composed  of  hydro- 
gen, carbon,  and  oxygen,  in  the  proportion  of  about  14, 
52,  and  34  parts  to  the  hundred.  It  is,  in  its  nature,  as 
manifested  by  its  effects,  a poison.  When  taken  in  any 
quantity  it  disturbs  healthy  action  in  the  human  system, 
and  in  large  doses  suddenly  destroys  life.  It  resembles 
opium  in  its  nature,  and  arsenic  in  its  effects.  And  though 
when  mixed  with  water,  as  in  ardent  spirit,  its  evils  are 
somewhat  modified,  they  are  by  no  means  prevented. 
Ardent  spirit  is  an  enemy  to  the  human  constitution,  and 
cannot  be  used  as  a drink  without  injury.  Its  ultimate 
tendency  invariably  is,  to  produce  weakness,  not  strength; 
sickness,  not  health ; death,  not  life. 

Consequently,  to  use  it  is  an  immorality.  It  is  a viola- 
tion of  the  will  of  God,  and  a sin  in  magnitude  equal  to  all 
the  evils,  temporal  and  eternal,  which  flow  from  it.  Nor 
can  the  furnishing  of  ardent  spirit  for  the  use  of  others 
be  accounted  a less  sin,  inasmuch  as  this  tends  to  pro- 
duce evils  greater  than  for  an  individual  merely  to  drink 
it.  And  if  a man  knows,  or  has  the  opportunity  of  know- 
ing, the  nature  and  effects  of  the  traffic  in  this  article, 
and  yet  continues  to  be  engaged  in  it,  he  may  justly  be 
regarded  as  an  immoral  man ; and  for  the  following  rea- 
sons, viz. 

Ardent  spirit,  as  a drink,  is  not  needful.  All  men  lived 
without  it,  and  all  the  business  of  the  world  was  con- 
ducted without  it,  for  thousands  of  years.  It  is  not  three 
hundred  years  since  it  began  to  be  generally  used  as  a 
drink  in  Great  Britain,  nor  one  hundred  years  since  it 
became  common  in  America.  Of  course  it  is  not  needful. 


o 


traffic  IN'  ARDENT  SPIRIT. 


[35S 


It  is  not  useful.  Those  who  do  not  use  it  are,  other 
things  being  equal,  in  all  respects  better  than  those 
who  do.  Nor  does  the  fact  that  persons  have  used  it 
with  more  or  less  frequency,  in  a greater  or  smaller 
quantity,  for  a longer  or  shorter  time,  render  it  either 
needful,  or  useful,  or  harmless,  or  right  for  them  to  con- 
tinue to  use  it.  More  than  a million  of  persons  in  this 
country,  and  multitudes  in  other  countries,  who  once  did 
use  it,  and  thought  it  needful,  have,  within  five  3'ears, 
ceased  to  use  it,  and  thej'  have  found  that  they  are  in  all 
respects  better  without  it.  And  this  number  is  so  great, 
of  all  ages,  and  conditions,  and  employments,  as  to  ren- 
der it  certain,  should  the  experiment  be  fairly  made,  that 
this  would  be  the  case  with  all.  Of  course,  ardent  spirit, 
as  a drink,  is  not  useful. 

It  is  hurtful.  Its  whole  influence  is  injurious  to  the 
body  and  the  mind  for  this  world  and  the  world  to  come. 

1.  It  forms  an  unnecessary,  artificial,  and  very  dan- 
gerous appetite which,  by  gratification,  like  the  desire 
for  sinning,  in  the  man  who  sins,  tends  continuallj'  to  in- 
crease. No  man  can  form  this  appetite  without  increas- 
ing his  danger  of  dying  a drunkard,  and  exerting  an  in- 
fluence which  tends  to  perpetuate  drunkenness,  and  all 
its  abominations,  to  the  end  of  the  world.  Its  very  for- 
mation therefore  is  a violation  of  the  will  of  God.  It 
is,  in  its  nature,  an  immorality,  and  sprinofs  from  an  inor- 
dinate desire  of  a kind  or  degree  of  bodih"  enjoj'ment — 
animal  gratification,  which  God  has  shown  to  be  incon- 
sistent with  his  glorv',  and  the  highest  good  of  man.  It 
shows  that  the  person  who  forms  it  is  not  satisfied  with 
the  proper  gratification  of  those  appetites  and  passions 
which  God  has  given  him,  or  with  that  kind  and  degree 
of  bodilj-  enjoj-ment  which  infinite  wisdom  and  goodness 
have  prescribed  as  the  utmost  that  can  be  possessed 
consistently  with  a person’s  highest  happiness  and  use- 
fulness, the  glorv'  of  his  Maker,  and  the  good  of  the  uni- 
verse. That  person  collets  more  animal  enjoj'ment ; to 
obtain  it  he  forms  a new  appetite,  and  in  doing  this  he 
rebels  against  God.  That  desire  for  increased  animal 
enjovanent  from  which  rebellion  springs,  is  sin,  and  all 
the  evils  which  follow  in  its  train  are  only  so  main'  voices 
bj-  which  Jehovah  declares  “ the  wa\'  of  transgressors 


TRAPFIC  IN  ARDENT  SPIRIT. 


3 


359] 

is  liarcl.  ’ The  person  who  has  formed  an  appetite  for 
ardent  spirit,  and  feels  uneasy  if  he  does  not  gratify  it, 
has  violated  the  divine  arrangement,  disregarded  the 
divine  will,  and  if  he  understands  the  nature  of  what  he 
has  done,  and  approves  of  it,  and  continues  in  it,  it  will 
ruin  him.  He  will  show  that  there  is  one  thing  in  which 
he  will  not  have  God  to  reign  over  him.  And  should  he 
keep  the  whole  law,  and  yet  continue  knowingly,  habit- 
ually, wilfully,  and  perseveringly  to  ohend  in  that  one 
point,  he  will  perish.  Then,  and  then  only,  according 
to  the  Bible,  can  any  man  be  saved,  when  he  has  re- 
spect to  all  the  known  will  of  God,  and  is  disposed  to 
be  governed  by  it.  He  must  carry  out  into  practice,  with 
regard  to  the  body  and  the  soul,  “ not  my  will,  but  thine 
be  done.”  His  grand  object  must  be  to  know  the  will  of 
God,  and  when  he  knows  it,  to  be  governed  by  it,  and 
with  regard  to  all  things.  This,  the  man  who  is  not  con- 
tented with  tliat  portion  of  animal  enjoyment  whicli  the 
proper  gratification  of  the  appetites  and  passions  which 
God  has  given  him  will  aiTord,  but  forms  an  appetite  for 
ardent  spirit,  or  continues  to  gratify  it  after  it  is  formed, 
does  not  do.  In  this  respect,  if  he  understands  the  nature 
and  effects  of  his  actions,  he  prefers  his  own  will  to  the 
known  will  of  God,  and  is  ripening  to  hear,  from  the 
lips  of  his  Judge,  “ Those  mine  enemies,  that  would 
not  that  I should  reign  over  them,  bring  them  hither  and 
slay  them  before  me.”  And  the  men  who  traffic  in  this 
article,  or  furnish  it  as  a drink  for  others,  are  tempting 
them  to  sin,  and  thus  uniting  their  influence  with  that  of 
the  devil  for  ever  to  ruin  them.  This  is  an  aggravated 
immorality,  and  the  men  who  continue  to  do  it  are  im- 
moral men. 

2.  The  use  of  ardent  spirit,  to  which  the  traffic  is  ac- 
cessory, causes  a great  and  wicked  waste  of  property. 
All  that  the  users  pay  for  this  article  is  to  them  lost,  and 
worse  than  lost.  Should  the  whole  Avhich  they  use  sink 
into  the  earth,  or  mingle  with  the  ocean,  it  would  be 
better  for  them,  and  better  for  the  community,  than  for 
them  to  drink  it.  All  which  it  takes  to  support  the  pau- 
pers, and  prosecute  the  crimes  which  ardent  spirit  occa- 
sions, is,  to  those  who  pay  the  money,  utterly  lost.  All 
the  diminution  of  profitable  labor  which  it  occasions. 


4 


TRAFFIC  IN  ARDENT  SPIRIT. 


[360 

through  improvidence,  idleness,  dissipation,  intempe- 
rance, sickness,  insanity,  and  premature  deaths,  is  to 
the  community  so  much  utterly  lost.  And  these  items, 
as  has  often  been  shown,  amount  in  the  United  States  to 
more  than  $100,000,000  a year.  To  this  enormous  and 
wicked  waste  of  property,  those  who  traffic  in  the  article 
are  knowingly  accessory. 

A portion  of  what  is  thus  lost  by  others,  they  obtain 
themselves ; but  without  rendering  to  others  any  valua- 
ble equivalent.  This  renders  their  business  palpably 
unjust;  as  really  so  as  if  they  should  obtain  that  money 
by  gambling;  and  it  is  as  really  immoral.  It  is  also 
unjust  in  another  respect ; it  burdens  the  community 
Avith  taxes  both  for  the  support  of  pauperism,  and  for 
the  prosecution  of  crimes,  and  without  rendering  to  that 
community  any  adequate  compensation.  These  taxes, 
as  shown  by  facts,  are  four  times  as  great  as  they  would 
be  if  there  were  no  sellers  of  ardent  spirit.  All  the 
profits,  with  the  exception  perhaps  of  a mere  pittance 
which  he  pays  for  license,  the  seller  puts  intg^  his  own 
pocket,  while  the  burthens  are  thrown  upon  the  commu- 
nity. This  is  palpably  unjust,  and  utterlj^  immoral.  Of 
1969  paupers  in  different  alms-houses  in  the  United 
States,  1790,  according  to  the  testimony  of  the  overseers 
of  the  poor,  Avere  made  such  by  spiritous  liquor.  And 
of  17G4  criminals  in  different  prisons,  more  than  1300 
Avere  either  intemperate  men,  or  Avere  under  the  poAver 
of  intoxicating  liquor  Avhen  tlie  crimes  for  which  they 
Avere  imprisoned  Avere  committed.  And  of  44  murders, 
according  to  the  testimony  of  those  Avho  prosecuted  or 
conducted  the  defence  of  the  murderers,  or  witnessed 
their  trials,  43  Avere  committed  by  intemperate  men,  or 
upon  intemperate  men,  or  those  aa'Iio  at  the  time  of  the 
murder  were  under  the  poAver  of  strong  drink. 

The  Hon.  Felix  Grundy,  United  States  senator  from 
Tennessee,  after  thirty  years  extensive  practice  as  a law- 
yer, gives  it  as  his  opinion  that  four-fifths  of  all  the 
crimes  committed  in  the  United  States  can  be  traced  to 
intemperance.  A similar  proportion  is  stated,  from  the 
highest  authority,  to  result  from  the  same  cause  in  Great 
Britain.  And  Avhen  it  is  considered  that  more  than  200 
murders  are  committed,  and  more  than  100,000  crimes 


TRAFFIC  IN  ARDENT  SPIRIT. 


5 


361] 


are  prosecuted  in  the  United  States  in  a year,  and  that  such 
a vast  proportion  of  them  are  occasioned  b)'  ardent  spirit, 
can  a doubt  remain  on  the  mind  of  any  sober  man,  that  the 
men  who  know  these  facts,  and  yet  continue  to  traffic  in 
this  article,  are  among  the  chief  causes  of  crime,  and  ought 
to  be  viewed  and  treated  as  immoral  men  ? It  is  as  really 
immoral  for  a man,  by  doing  wrong,  to  excite  others  to 
commit  crime,  as  to  commit  them  himself;  and  as  really 
unjust  wrongfully  to  take  another’s  property  with  his 
consent,  as  without  it.  And  though  it  might  not  be  de- 
sirable to  have  such  a law,  yet  no  law  in  the  statute  book 
is  more  righteous  than  one  which  should  require  that 
those  who  make  paupers  should  support  them,  and  those 
who  excite  others  to  commit  crimes,  should  pay  the  cost 
of  their  prosecution,  and  should,  with  those  who  commit 
them,  bear  all  the  evils.  And  so  long  as  this  is  not  the 
case  they  will  be  guilty,  according  to  the  divine  law,  of 
defrauding,  as  well  as  tempting  and  corrupting  their  fel- 
low men.  And  though  such  crimes  cannot  be  prose- 
cuted, and  justice  be  awarded  in  human  courts,  their 
perpetrators  will  be  held  to  answer,  and  will  meet  with 
full  and  awful  retribution  at  the  divine  tribunal.  And 
when  judgment  is  laid  to  the  line,  and  righteousness  to 
the  plummet,  they  will  appear  as  they  really  are,  crimi- 
nals, and  will  be  viewed  and  treated  as  such  for  ever. 

There  is  another  view  in  which  the  traffic  in  ardent 
spirit  is  manifestly  highly  immoral.  It  exposes  the  chil- 
dren of  those  who  use  it,  in  an  eminent  degree,  to  dissi- 
pation and  crime.  Of  690  children  prosecuted  and  im- 
prisoned for  crimes,  more  than  400  were  from  intempe- 
rate families.  Thus  the  venders  of  this  liquor  exert  an 
influence  which  tends  strongly  to  ruin  not  only  those 
who  use  it,  but  their  children;  to  render  tliem  more  than 
four  times  as  liable  to  idleness,  profligacy,  and  ruin,  as 
the  children  of  those  who  do  not  use  it;  and  through 
them  to  extend  these  evils  to  others,  and  to  perpetuate 
them  to  future  generations.  This  is  a sin  of  which  all 
who  traffic  in  ardent  spirit  are  guilty.  Often  the  deepest 
pang  which  a dying  parent  feels  for  his  children,  is  lest, 
through  the  instrumentality  of  such  men,  they  should  be 
ruined.  And  is  it  not  horrible  wickedness  for  them,  by 


6 


TRAFFIC  IN  ARDENT  SPIRIT, 


[362 


exposing  for  sale  one  of  the  chief  causes  of  this  ruin,  to 
tempt  tliem  in  the  way  to  death.  If  he  who  takes  money 
from  others  without  an  equivalent,  or  wickedly  destroys 
properly,  is  an  immoral  man,  what  is  he  who  destroys 
character ; w ho  corrupts  the  children  and  youth,  and 
exerts  an  influence  to  extend  and  perpetuate  immorality 
and  crime  through  future  generations?  This  every  ven- 
der of  ardent  spirit  does,  and  if  he  continues  in  this 
business  with  a knowledge  of  the  subject,  it  marks  him 
as  an  habitual  and  persevering  violator  of  the  will  of  God. 

3.  Ardent  spirit  impairs,  and  often  destroys  reason. 
Of  781  maniacs  in  difi’erent  insane  hospitals,  392,  accord- 
ing to  the  testimony  of  their  own  friends,  were  rendered 
maniacs  by  strong  drink.  And  the  physicians  who  had 
the  care  of  them  gave  it  as  their  opinion  that  this  was 
the  case  with  many  of  the  others.  Those  who  have  had 
extensive  experience,  and  the  best  opportunities  for  ob- 
servation with  regard  to  this  malady,  have  stated,  that 
probably  from  one  half  to  three-fourths  . of  the  cases  of 
insanity,  in  many  places,  are  occasioned  in  the  same 
way.  Ardent  spirit  is  a poison  so  diffusive  and  subtil 
that  it  is  found  by  actual  experiment  to  penetrate  even 
the  brain. 

Dr.  Kirk,  of  Scotland,  dissected  a man  a few'  hours 
after  death  who  died  in  a fit  of  intoxication:  and  from 
the  lateral  ventricles  of  the  brain  he  took  a fluid  dis- 
tinctly visible  to  tlie  smell  as  wdiiskey ; and  w'hen  he 
applied  a candle  to  it  in  a spoon  it  took  fire  and  burnt 
blue  ; “ the  lambent  blue  flame,”  he  says,  “ characte- 
ristic of  the  poison,  playing  on  the  surface  of  the  spocn 
for  some  seconds.” 

It  produces  also  in  the  children  of  those  who  use  it 
freely,  a predisposition  to  intemperance,  insanity,  and 
various  diseases  of  both  body  and  mind  ; which,  if  the 
cause  is  continued,  becomes  hereditary,  and  is  transmit- 
ted from  generation  to  generation  ; occasioning  a dimi- 
nution of  size,  strength,  and  energy  ; a feebleness  of 
vision,  a feebleness  and  imbecility  of  purpose,  an  obtuse- 
ness of  intellect,  a depravation  of  moral  taste,  a prema- 
ture old  age,  and  a general  deterioration  of  the  wdiole 
character.  This  is  the  case  in  every  country,  and  in 
every  age. 


TRAFFIC  IN  ARDENT  SPIRIT. 


7 


•363] 


Instances  arc  known  where  the  first  cliildren  of  a 
family  who  were  born  when  their  parents  were  tempe- 
rate, have  been  healthy,  intelligent,  and  active;  while 
the  last  children,  ivho  were  born  after  the  parents  had 
become  intemperate,  were  dwarfish  and  idiotic,  A medi- 
cal gentleman  writes,  “ I have  no  doubt  that  a disposi- 
tion to  nervous  diseases  of  a peculiar  character  is  trans- 
mitted by  drunken  parents.”  Another  gentleman  states, 
that  in  two  families  within  his  knowledge,  the  different 
stages  of  intemperance  in  the  parents  seemed  to  be 
marked  by  a corresponding  deterioration  in  the  bodies 
and  minds  of  the  children.  In  one  case  the  eldest  of 
the  family  is  respectable,  industrious,  and  accumulates 
property  ; the  next  is  inferior,  disposed  to  be  industrious, 
but  spends  all  he  can  earn  in  strong  drink.  The  third 
is  dwarfish  in  body  and  mind,  and,  to  use  his  own  lan- 
guage, “ a poor  miserable  remnant  of  a man.” 

In  another  famil)’-  of  daughters,  the  first  is  a smart, 
active  girl,  with  an  intelligent  well-balanced  mind  ; the 
others  are  afflicted  with  different  degrees  of  mental  weak- 
ness and  imbecility,  and  the  youngest  is  an  idiot.  Ano- 
ther medical  gentleman  states,  that  the  first  child  of  a 
family,  who  was  born  when  the  habits  of  the  mother  was 
good,  was  healthy  and  promising ; while  the  four  last 
children,  who  were  born  after  the  mother  had  become 
addicted  to  the  habit  of  using  opium,  appeared  to  be 
stupid ; and  all,  at  about  the  same  age,  sickened  and  died 
of  a disease  apparently  occasioned  by  the  habits  of  the 
mother. 

Another  gentleman  mentions  a case  more  common, 
and  more  appalling  still.  A respectable  and  influential 
man  early  in  life  adopted  the  habit  of  using  a little  ardent 
spirit  daily,  because,  as  he  thought,  it  did  him  good.  He 
and  his  six  children,  three  sons  and  three  daughters,  are 
now  in  the  drunkard’s  grave,  and  the  only  surviving 
child  is  rapidly  follotving  after,  in  the  same  way,  to  the 
same  dismal  end. 

The  best  authorities  attribute  one  half  the  madness, 
three-fourths  of  the  pauperism,  and  four-fifths  of  the 
crimes  and  wretchedness  in  Great  Britain  to  the  use  o 
strong  drink. 

4.  Ardent  spirit  increases  the  number,  frequeucv,  and 
2* 


8 


TRAFFIC  IN  ARDENT  SPIRIT. 


[364 


violence  of  diseases,  and  tends  to  bring  those  who  use  it 
to  a premature  grave.  In  Portsmouth,  New-Hampshire, 
of  about  7,500  people,  twenty-one  persons  were  killed 
by  it  in  a year.  In  Salem,  Massachusetts,  of  181  deaths, 
twenty  were  occasioned  in  the  same  way.  Of  ninety- 
one  adults  who  died  in  New-Haven,  Connecticut,  in  one 
year,  thirty-two,  according  to  the  testimony  of  the  Medi- 
cal Association,  were  occasioned,  directly  or  indirectly, 
by  strong  drink,  and  a similar  proportion  had  been  oc- 
casioned by  it  in  previous  years.  Iji  New-Brunswick, 
New-Jersey,  of  sixty-seven  adult  deaths  in  one  year, 
more  than  one-third  were  caused  by  intoxicating  liquor. 
In  Philadelphia,  of  4,292  deaths,  700  were,  wi  the  opinion 
of  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons,  caused  in 
the  same  way.  The  physicians  of  Annapolis,  Maryland, 
state,  that  of  thirty-two  persons,  male  and  female,  who 
died  in  1828,  above  eighteen  years  of  age,  ten,  or  nearly 
one  third,  died  of  diseases  occasioned  by  intemperance ; 
that  eighteen  were  males,  and  that  of  these,  nine,  or  one 
half,  died  of  intemperance.  They  also  say,  “ When  we 
recollect  that  even  the  temperate  use,  as  it  is  called,  of 
ardent  spirits,  lays  the  foundation  of  a numerous  train  of 
incurable  maladies,  we  feel  justified  in  expressing  the 
belief,  that  were  the  use  of  distilled  liquors  entirely  dis- 
continued, the  number  of  deaths  among  the  male  adults 
would  be  diminished  at  least  one  half.” 

Says  an  eminent  physician,  “ Since  our  people  gene- 
rally have  given  up  the  use  of  spirit,  they  have  not  had 
more  than  half  as  much  sickness  as  they  had  before; 
and  I have  no  doubt,  should  all  the  people  of  the  United 
States  cease  to  use  it,  that  nearly  half  the  sickness  of  the 
country  would  cease.”  Says  another,  after  forty  years 
extensive  pract  ce,  “ Half  the  men  every  year  who  die 
of  fevers  might  recover  had  they  not  been  in  the  habit 
of  using  ardent  s,  irit.  Many  a man,  down  for  weeks 
with  a fever,  had  he  not  used  ardent  spirit,  would  not 
have  been  confined  to  his  house  a day.  He  might  have 
felt  a slight  headache,  but  a little  fasting  would  have  re- 
moved the  difficulty,  and  the  man  been  well.  And  many 
a man  who  was  never  intoxicated,  when  visited  with  a 
fever,  miglit  be  raised  up  as  well  as  not,  were  it  not  for 
that  state  of  the  system  which  daily  moderate  drinking 


365] 


TRAFFIC  IN  ARDENT  SPIRIT. 


9 


occasions,  who  now,  in  spite  of  all  that  can  be  done, 
sinks  down  and  dies.” 

Nor  are  we  to  admit  for  a moment  the  popular  reason- 
ing, as  applicable  here,  “ that  tlie  abuse  of  a thing  is  no 
argument  against  its  use for,  in  the  language  of  the 
late  Secretary  of  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons 
of  Philadelphia,  Samuel  Emlcn,  M.  D.  “ All  use  of  ar- 
dent spirits  (/.  e.  as  a drink)  is  an  abuse.  They  are  mis- 
chievous under  all  circumstances.”  Their  tendency,  says 
Dr.  Frank,  when  used  even  moderately,  is  to  induce 
disease,  premature  old  age,  and  death.  And  Dr.  Trotter 
states,  that  no  cause  of  disease  has  so  wide  a range,  or 
so  large  a share,  as  the  use  of  spiritous  liquors. 

Dr.  Harris  states,  that  the  moderate  use  of  spiritous 
liquors  has  destroyed  many  who  were  never  drunk  ; and 
Dr.  Kirk  gives  it  as  his  opinion,  that  men  who  were 
never  considered  intemperate,  by  daily  drinking  have 
often  shortened  life  more  than  twenty  years ; and  that 
the  respectable  use  of  this  poison  kills  more  men  than 
even  drunkenness.  Dr.  Wilson  gives  it  as  his  opinion, 
that  the  use  of  spirit  in  large  cities  causes  more  diseases 
than  confined  air,  unwholesome  exhalations,  and  the  com- 
bined influence  of  all  other  evils. 

Dr.  Cheyne,  of  Dublin,  Ireland,  after  thirty  years  prac- 
tice and  observation,  gives  it  as  his  opinion,  that  should 
ten  young  men  begin  at  twenty-one  years  of  age  to  use 
but  one  glass  of  two  ounces  a day,  and  never  increase 
the  quantity,  nine  out  of  ten  rvould  shorten  life  more 
than  ten  years.  But  should  moderate  drinkers  shorten 
life  only  five  years,  and  drunkards  only  ten,  and  should 
there  be  but  four  moderate  drinkers  to  one  drunkard,  it 
would  in  thirty  years  cut  off  in  the  United  States 
32,400,000  years  of  human  life.  An  aged  physician  in 
Maryland  states,  that  when  the  fever  breaks  out  there, 
the  men  who  do  not  use  ardent  spirit  are  not  half  as 
likely  as  other  men  to  have  it;  and  that  if  they  do  have 
it  they  are  ten  times  as  likely  to  recover.  In  the  island 
of  Key  West,  on  the  coast  of  Florida,  after  a great  mor- 
tality, it  was  found  that  every  person  who  had  died  was 
in  the  habit  of  using  ardent  spirit.  The  quantity  used 
was  afterward  diminished  more  than  nine-tenths,  and 
the  inhabitants  became  remarkably  healthy. 

VoL.  4 Q 2 


10 


TRAFFIC  IN  ARDENT  SPIRIT. 


[366 


A gentleman  of  great  respectability  from  the  south, 
states,  that  those  who  fall  victims  to  southern  climes, 
are  almost  invariably  addicted  to  the  free  use  of  ardent 
spirit.  Dr.  Mosely,  after  a long  residence  in  the  West 
Indies,  declares,  “ that  persons  who  drink  nothing  but 
cold  water,  or  make  it  their  principal  drink,  are  but  little 
aflected  by  tropical  climates ; that  they  undergo  the  great- 
est fatigue  without  inconvenience,  and  are  not  so  subject 
as  others  to  dangerous  diseases;”  and  Dr.  Bell,  “ that 
rum,  when  used  even  moderately,  always  diminishes  the 
strength,  and  renders  men  more  susceptible  of  disease; 
and  that  we  might  as  well  throw  oil  into  a house,  the 
roof  of  which  is  on  fire,  in  order  to  prevent  the  flames 
from  extending  to  the  inside,  as  to  pour  ardent  spirits 
into  the  stomach  to  prevent  the  effect  of  a hot  sun  upon 
the  skin.” 

Of  seventy-seven  persons  found  dead  in  diflerent  re- 
gions of  country,  sixty-seven,  according  to  the  coroner’s 
inquests,  were  occasioned  by  strong  drink.  Nine-tenths 
of  those  who  die  suddenly  after  the  drinking  of  cold 
water,  have  been  habitually  addicted  to  the  free  use  of 
ardent  spirit;  and  that  draught  of  cold  water,  that  effort, 
or  fatigue,  or  exposure  to  the  sun,  or  disease,  which  a 
man  who  uses  no  ardent  spirit  will  bear  without  incon- 
venience or  danger,  wdll  often  kill  those  who  use  it. 
Their  liability  to  sickness  and  to  death  is  often  increased 
ten  fohl.  And  to  all  these  evils,  those  who  continue  to 
traffic  in  it,  after  all  the  light  which  God  in  his  provi- 
dence has  thrown  upon  the  subject,  are  knowingly  ac- 
cessor}'. Whether  they  deal  in  it  by  wholesale  or  retail, 
by  the  cargo  or  the  glass,  they  are,  in  their  influence, 
drunkard-makers.  So  are  also  those  who  furnish  the 
materials;  those  who  advertise  the  liquors,  and  thus  pro- 
mote their  circulation;  those  who  lease  their  tenements 
to  be  employed  as  dram-shops,  or  stores  for  the  sale  of 
ardent  spirit ; and  those  also  who  purchase  their  groce- 
ries of  spirit  dealers  rather  than  of  others,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  saving  to  the  amount  which  the  sale  of  ardent 
spirit  enables  such  men,  without  loss,  to  undersell  their 
neighbors.  These  are  all  accessory  to  the  making  of 
drunkards,  and  as  such  will  be  held  to  answer  at  the 
dii  .ne  tribunal.  So  are  those  men  who  employ  their 


367]  TRAFFIC  IN  ARDENT  SPIRIT.  ll 

shipping  in  transporting  the  liquors,  or  are  in  any  way 
knowingly  aiding  and  abetting  in  perpetuating  their  use 
as  a drink  in  the  community. 

Four-fifths  of  those  who  are  swept  away  by  that  direful 
malady  the  cholera,  are  such  as  have  been  addicted 
to  the  use  of  intoxicating  drink.  Dr.  Bronson,  of  Albany, 
who  lately  spent  some  time  in  Canada,  and  whose  profes- 
sional character  and  standing  give  great  weight  to  his 
opinions,  says,  “ Intemperance  of  any  species,  but  par- 
ticularly intemperance  in  the  use  of  distilled  liquors, 
has  been  a more  productive  cause  of  cholera  than  any 
other,  and  indeed  than  all  others.”  And  can  men,  for 
the  sake  of  money,  make  it  a business  knowingly  and 
perseveringly  to  f^urnish  the  most  productive  cause  of 
cholera,  and  not  be  guilty  of  blood?  not  manifest  a reck- 
lessness of  character  which  will  brand  the  mark  of  vice 
and  infamy  on  their  foreheads  ?”  “ Drunkards  and  tip- 
plers,” he  adds,  “ have  been  searched  out  with  such  un- 
erring certainty  as  to  show  that  the  arrows  of  death 
have  not  been  dealt  out  with  indiscrimination.  An  in- 
describable terror  has  spread  through  the  ranks  of  this 
class  of  beings.  They  see  the  bolts  of  destruction  aimed 
at  their  heads,  and  every  one  calls  himself  a victim. 
There  seems  to  be  a natural  affinity  between  cholera  and 
ardent  spirit.”  What,  then,  in  days  of  exposure  to  this 
malady,  is  so  great  a nuisance  as  the  places  which  furnish 
this  poison?  Says  Dr.  Rhinelander,  who,  with  Dr.  De 
Kay,  was  deputed  from  New-York  to  visit  Canada,  “ We 
may  be  asked  who  are  the  victims  of  this  disease  ? I an- 
swer, the  intemperate  it  invariably  cuts  off.”  In  Mon- 
treal, after  1200  had  been  attacked,  a Montreal  paper 
states,  that  “ not  a drunkard  who  has  been  attacked  has 
recovered  of  the  disease,  and  almost  all  the  victims  have 
been  at  least  moderate  drinkers.”  In  Paris,  the  30,000 
victims  were,  with  few  exceptions,  those  who  freely  used 
intoxicating  liquors.  Nine-tenths  of  those  who  died  of 
the  cholera  in  Poland  were  of  the  same  class. 

In  Petersburg  and  Moscow,  the  average  number  of 
deaths  in  the  bills  of  mortality,  during  the  prevalence  of 
the  cholera,  when  the  people  ceased  to  drink  brandy, 
was  no  greater  than  when  they  used  it  during  the  usual 
months  of  health — showing  that  brandy,  and  attendant 


12 


TRAFFIC  IN  ARDENT  SPIRIT. 


[368 


dissipation,  killed  as  many  people  in  the  same  time  as 
even  the  cholera  itself,  that  pestilence  which  has  spread 
sackcloth  over  the  nations.  And  shall  the  men  who 
know  this,  and  yet  continue  to  furnish  it  for  all  who  can 
be  induced  to  buy,  escape  the  execration  of  being  the 
destroyers  of  their  race?  Of  more  than  1000  deaths  in 
Pdontreal,  it  is  stated  that  only  two  were  members  of 
Temperance  societies ; and  that  as  far  as  is  known  no 
members  of  Temperance  societies  in  Ireland,  Scotland, 
or  England,  have  as  yet  fallen  victims  to  that  dreadful 
disease. 

From  Montreal,  Dr.  Bronson  writes,  “ Cholera  has 
stood  up  here,  as  it  has  done  every  where,  the  advocate 
of  Temperance.  It  has  pleaded  most  eloquently,  and 
with  tremendous  eflect.  The  disease  has  searched  out 
the  haunt  of  the  drunkard,  and  has  seldom  left  it  without 
bearing  away  its  victim.  Even  moderate  drinkers  have 
been  but  little  better  off.  Ardent  spirits,  in  any  shape, 
and  in  all  quantities,  have  been  highly  detrimental.  Some 
temperate  men  resorted  to  them  during  the  prevalence 
of  the  malady  as  a preventive,  or  to  remove  the  feeling 
of  uneasiness  about  the  stomach,  or  for  the  purpose  of 
drowning  their  apprehensions,  but  they  did  it  at  their 
peril.” 

Says  the  London  Morning  Herald,  after  stating  that 
the  cholera  fastens  its  deadly  grasp  upon  this  class  of 
men,  “ The  same  prefeience  for  the  intemperate  and 
uncleanly  has  characterized  the  cholera  every  where. 
Intemperance  is  a qualification  which  it  never  overlooks. 
Often  has  it  passed  harmless  over  a wide  population  of 
temperate  country  people,  and  poured  down,  as  an  over- 
flowing scourge,  upon  the  drunkards  of  some  distant 
town.”  Says  another  English  publication,  “ All  expe- 
rience, both  in  Great  Britain  and  elsewhere,  has  proved 
that  those  ■who  have  been  addicted  to  drinking  spiritous 
liquors,  and  indulging  in  irregular  habits,  have  been  the 
greatest  sufferers  from  cholera.  In  some  towns  the 
drunkards  are  all  dead.  Rammohim  Fingee,  the  famous 
Indian  doctor,  says,  with  regard  to  India,  that  people 
who  do  not  take  opium,  or  spirits,  do  not  take  this  dis- 
order even  when  they  are  ivith  those  who  have  it.  Mon- 
sieur Huber,  who  saw  2,160  persons  perish  in  twenty- 


369] 


TRAFFIC  IN  ARDENT  SPIRIT. 


13 


five  clays  in  one  town  in  Russia,  says,  “ It  is  a most  re- 
markable circumstance,  that  persons  given  to  drinking 
have  been  swept  away  like  flies.  In  Tiflis,  containing 
20,000  inhabitants,  every  drunkard  has  fallen — all  are 
dead,  not  one  remains.” 

And  Dr.  Sewall,  of  Washington  city,  in  a letter  from 
IVew-York,  states,  that  of  204  cases  of  cholera  in  the 
Park  hospital,  there  were  only  six  temperate  persons, 
and  that  those  had  recovered ; while  122  of  the  others, 
when  he  wrote,- had  died,  and  that  the  facts  were  similar 
in  all  the  other  hospitals. 

In  Albany,  New-York,  a careful  examination  was  made 
by  respectable  gentlemen  into  the  cases  of  those  who 
died  of  the  cholera  in  that  city  in  1832,  over  sixteen 
years  of  age.  The  result  was  examined  in  detail  by  nine 
physicians,  members  of  the  medical  staff  attached  to  the 
Board  of  Health  in  that  city — (all  who  belong  to  it,  ex- 
cept two,  who  were  at  that  time  absent) — and  published 
at  their  request  under  the  signature  of  the  Chancellor  of 
the  State,  and  the  five  distinguished  gentlemen  who  com- 
pose the  Executive  Committee  of  the  New-York  State 
Temperance  Society,  and  is  as  follows : Number  of 
deaths,  366;  viz.  intemperate,  140;  free  drinkers,  55; 
moderate  drinkers,  mostly  habitual,  131  ; strictly  tem- 
perate, who  drank  no  ardent  spirit,  5;  members  of  Tern 
perance  societies,  2;  and  when  it  is  recollected  that  of 
more  than  5,000  members  of  Temperance  societies  in 
the  city  of  Albany,  only  2,  not  one  in  2,500,  fell  by  this 
disease,  while  it  cut  off  more  than  one  in  50  of  the  in- 
habitants of  that  city,  we  cannot  but  feel  that  men  who 
furnish  ardent  spirit  as  a drink  for  their  fellow-men,  are 
manifestly  inviting  the  ravages,  and  preparing  the  vic- 
tims of  this  fatal  malady,  and  of  numerous  other  mortal 
diseases ; and  when  inquisition  is  made  for  blood,  and 
the  effects  of  their  employment  are  examined  for  the 
purpose  of  rendering  to  them  according  to  their  work, 
they  will  be  found,  should  they  continue,  to  be  guilty  of 
knowingly  destroying  their  fellow-men. 

What  right  have  men,  by  selling  ardent  spirit,  to  in- 
crease the  danger,  extend  the  ravages,  and  augment  and 
perpetuate  the  malignancy  of  the  cholera,  and  multiply 
upon  the  community  numerous  other  mortal  diseases  ? 


14  TRAFFIC  IN  ARDENT  SPIRIT.  [370 

Who  cannot  see  that  it  is  a foul,  deep,  and  fatal  injury 
inflicted  on  society  ? that  it  is  in  a high  degree  cruel  and 
unjust?  that  it  scatters  the  population  of  our  cities,  ren- 
ders our  business  stagnant,  and  exposes  our  sons  and  our 
daughters  to  premature  and  sudden  death?  So  manifestly 
is  this  the  case,  that  the  Board  of  Health  of  the  city  of 
Washington,  on  the  approach  of  the  cholera,  declared 
the  vending  of  ardent  spirit,  in  any  quantity,  to  be  a 
nuisance  ; and  as  such  ordered  that  it  be  discontinued 
for  the  space  of  ninety  days.  This  was  done  in  self- 
defence,  to  save  the  community  from  the  sickness  and 
death  which  the  vending  of  spirit  is  adapted  to  occasion. 
Nor  is  this  tendency  to  occasion  disease  and  death  con- 
fined to  the  time  when  the  cholera  is  raging. 

By  the  statement  of  the  physicians  in  Annapolis,  IMa- 
ryland,  it  appears  that  the  average  number  of  deaths  by 
intemperance  for  several  years,  has  been  one  to  every 
329  inhabitants;  which  would  make  in  the  United  States 
40,000  in  a year.  And  it  is  the  opinion  of  physicians 
that  as  many  more  die  of  diseases  which  are  induced,  or 
aggravated,  and  rendered  mortal  by  the  use  of  ardent 
spirit.  And  to  those  results,  all  who  make  it,  sell  it,  or 
use  it,  are  accessory. 

It  is  a principle  in  law,  that  the  perpetrator  of  crime, 
and  the  accessory  to  it,  are  both  guilty,  and  deserving  of 
punishment.  Men  have  been  hanged  for  the  violation 
of  this  principle.  It  applies  to  the  law  of  God.  And  as 
the  drunkard  cannot  go  to  heaven,  can  drunkard-makers? 
Are  they  not,  when  tried  by  the  principles  of  the  Bible, 
in  view  of  the  developments  of  Providence,  manifestly 
immoral  men?  men  who,  for  the  sake  of  money,  will 
knowingly  be  instrumental  in  corrupting  the  character, 
increasing  the  diseases,  and  destroying  the  lives  of  their 
fellow-men  ? 

“ But,”  says  one,  “ I never  sell  to  drunkards;  I sell 
only  to  sober  men.”  And  is  that  any  better?  Is  it  a less 
evil  to  the  community  to  make  drunkards  of  sober  men 
than  it  is  to  kill  drunkards  ? Ask  that  widowed  mother 
who  did  her  the  greatest  evil?  The  man  who  only  killed 
her  drunken  husband,  or  the  man  who  made  a drunkard 
of  her  only  son?  Ask  those  orphan  children  who  did 
them  the  greatest  injury?  the  man  who  made  their  once 


TRAFFIC  IN  ARDENT  SPIRIT. 


15 


371] 

sober,  kind,  and  affectionate  father  a drunkard,  and  thus 
blasted  all  their  hopes,  and  turned  their  home,  sweet 
home,  into  the  emblem  of  hell ; or  the  man  who,  after 
they  had  suffered  for  years  the  anguish,  the  indescribable 
anguish  of  the  drunkard’s  children,  and  seen  their  heart- 
broken mother  in  danger  of  an  untimely  grave,  only 
killed  their  drunken  father,  and  thus  caused  in  their 
habitation  a great  calm?  Which  of  these  two  men  brought 
upon  them  the  greatest  evil  ? Can  you  doubt?  You  then 
do  nothing  but  make  drunkards  of  sober  men,  or  expose 
them  to  become  such.  Suppose  that  all  the  evils  which 
you  maybe  instrumental  in  bringing  upon  other  children, 
were  to  come  upon  your  own,  and  that  you  were  to  bear 
all  the  anguish  which  you  may  occasion ; would  you  have 
any’ doubt  that  the  man  who  would  knowingly  continue 
to  be  accessary  to  the  bringing  of  these  evils  upon  you, 
must  be  a notoriously  wicked  man? 

5.  Ardent  spirit  destroys  the  soul. 

Facts  in  great  numbers  are  now  before  the  public, 
which  show  conclusively  that  the  use  of  ardent  spirit 
tends  strongly  to  hinder  the  moral  and  spiritual  illumina- 
tion and  purification  of  men ; and  thus  to  prevent  their 
salvation,  and  bring  upon  them  the  horrors  of  the  second 
death. 

A disease  more  dreadful  than  the  cholera,  or  any  other 
that  kills  the  body  merely,  is  raging,  and  is  universal, 
threatening  the  endless  death  of  the  soul.  A remedy  is 
provided  all  sufficient,  and  infinitely  efficacious ; but  the 
use  of  ardent  spirit  aggravates  the  disease,  and  with  mil- 
lions and  millions  prevents  the  application  of  the  remedy 
and  its  efiect. 

It  appears  from  the  Fifth  Report  of  the  American 
Temperance  Society,  that  more  than  four  times  as  many, 
in  proportion  to  the  number,  over  wide  regions  of  coun- 
try, during  the  preceding  year,  have  apparently  embraced 
the  Gospel,  and  experienced  its  saving  power,  from  among 
those  who  had  renounced  the  use  of  ardent  spirit,  as  from 
those  who  continued  to  use  it. 

The  Committee  of  the  New-York  State  Temperance 
Society,  in  view  of  the  peculiar  and  unprecedented  atte’A- 
tion  to  religion  which  followed  the  adoption  of  the  plan 
of  abstinence  from  the  use  of  strong  drink,  remark,  that 


16 


TRAFFIC  IN  ARDENT  SPIRIT. 


[372 


when  this  course  is  taken,  the  greatest  enemy  to  the  work 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  on  the  minds  and  hearts  of  men,  ap- 
pears to  be  more  than  half  conquered. 

In  three  hundred  towns,  six  tenths  of  those  who  two 
years  ago  belonged  to  Temperance  societies,  but  were 
not  hopefully  pious,  have  since  become  so ; and  eight 
tenths  of  those  who  have  within  that  time  become  hope- 
fully pious,  who  did  not  belong  to  Temperance  societies, 
have  since  joined  them.  In  numerons  places,  where  only 
a minority  of  the  people  abstained  from  the  use  of  ardent 
spirit,  nine-tenths  of  those,  who  have  of  late  professed 
the  religion  of  Christ,  have  been  from  that  minority. 
This  is  occasioned  in  various  ways.  The  use  of  ardent 
spirit  keeps  many  away  from  the  house  of  God,  and  thus 
prevents  them  from  coming  under  the  sound  of  the  Gos- 
pel. And  many  who  do  come  it  causes  to  continue  stupid, 
worldly  minded,  and  unholy.  A single  glass  a day  is 
enough  to  keep  multitudes  of  men,  under  the  full  blaze 
of  the  Gospel,  from  ever  experiencing  its  illuminating 
and  purifying  power.  Even  if  they  come  to  the  light, 
and  it  shines  upon  them,  it  shines  upon  darkness,  and 
the  darkness  does  not  comprehend  it.  While  multitudes 
who  thus  do  evil  will  not  come  to  the  light  lest  their 
deeds  should  be  reproved.  There  is  a total  contrariety 
between  the  effect  produced  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  the 
effect  of  spiritous  liquor  upon  the  minds  and  hearts  of 
men.  The  latter  tends  directly  and  powerfully  to  coun- 
teract the  former.  It  tends  to  make  men  feel  in  a man- 
ner which  Jesus  Christ  hates,  rich  spiritually,  increased 
in  goods,  and  in  need  of  nothing  ; while  it  tends  for  ever 
to  prevent  them  from  feeling,  as  sinners  must  feel,  to  buy 
of  him  gold  tried  in  the  fire,  that  they  ma3'be  rich.  Those 
who  use  it,  therefore,  are  taking  the  direct  course  to  de- 
stroy- their  OAvn  souls ; and  those  who  furnish  it  are  taking 
the  course  to  destroy  the  souls  of  their  fellow-men. 

In  one  towm,  more  than  twenty  times  as  many,  in  pro- 
portion to  the  number,  professed  the  religion  of  Christ 
during  the  past  j-ear ; and  in  another  towm  more  than 
thirty  times  as  many  of  those  %vho  did  not  use  ardent 
spirit,  as  of  those  who  did.  In  other  towns,  in  which 
from  one-third  to  two-thirds  of  the  people  did  not  use  it, 
and  from  twenty  to  forty  made  a profession  of  religion, 


StS]  TRAFFIC  IN  ARDENT  SPIRIT.  17 

they  were  all  from  the  same  class.  What  then  are  those 
men  doing  who  furnish  it,  but  taking  the  course  which 
is  adapted  to  keep  men  stupid  in  sin  till  they  sink  into 
the  agonies  of  the  second  death!  And  is  not  this  an  im- 
morality of  a high  and  aggravated  description!  and  one 
which  ought  to  mark  every  man  who  understands  its 
nature  and  effects,  and  yet  continues  to  live  in  it,  as  a no- 
toriously immoral  roan!  What  though  he  does  not  live  in 
other  immoralities — is  not  this  enough!  Suppose  he 
should  manufacture  poisonous  miasma,  and  cause  the 
cholera  in  our  dwellings ; sell,  knowingly,  the  cause  of 
disease,  and  increase  more  than  one-lifth  over  wide  re- 
gions of  country  the  number  of  adult  deaths,  would  he 
not  be  a murderer?  “ I know,”  says  the  learned  Judge 
Cranch,  “ that  the  cup  (which  contains  ardent  spirit)  is 
poisoned ; I know  that  it  may  cause  death,  that  it  may 
cause  more  than  death,  that  it  may  lead  to  crime,  to  sin, 
to  the  tortures  of  everlasting  remorse.  Am  I not  then 
a murderer?  worse  than  a murderer  ? as  much  worse  as 
the  soul  is  better  than  the  body  ! If  ardent  spirits  were 
nothing  worse  than  a deadly  poison — if  they  did  not  ex- 
cite and  inflame  all  the  evil  passions — if  they  did  not 
(Mm  that  heavenly  light  which  the  Almighty  has  implanted 
in  our  bosoms  to  guide  us  through  the  obscure  passages 
of  our  pilgrimage — if  they  did  not  quench  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  our  hearts,  they  would  be  comparatively  harm- 
less. It  is  their  moral  effect — it  is  the  ruin  of  the  soul 
which  they  produce,  that  renders  them  so  dreadful.  The 
difference  between  death  by  simple  poison,  and  death  by 
habitual  intoxication,  may  extend  to  the  whole  difference 
between  everlasting  happiness  and  eternal  death.” 

And,  say  the  New-York  State  Society,  at  the  head  of 
which  is  the  Chancellor  of  the  State,  “ Disguise  that 
business  as  they  will,  it  is  still,  in  its  true  character,  the 
business  of  destroying  the  bodies  and  souls  of  men. 
The  vender  and  the  maker  of  spirits,  in  the  whole  range 
of  them,  from  the  pettiest  grocer  to  the  most  extensive 
distiller,  are  fairly  chargeable,  not  only  with  supplying 
the  appetite  for  spirits,  but  with  creating  that  unnatural 
appetite ; not  only  with  supplying  the  drunkard  with  the 
fuel  of  his  vices,  but  with  making  the  drunkard. 

“ In  reference  to  the  taxes  with  which  the  making  and 


18 


TRAFFIC  IN  ARDENT  SPIRIT. 


[374 


vending  of  spirits  loads  the  community,  how  unfair  to- 
ward others  is  the  occupation  of  the  maker  and  vender 
of  them ! A town,  for  instance,  contains  one  hundred 
drunkards.  The  profit  of  making  these  drunkards  is 
enjoyed  by  some  half  a dozen  persons ; but  the  burden 
of  these  drunkards  rests  upon  the  whole  town.  We  do 
not  suggest  that  there  should  be  such  a law ; but  we  ask 
whether  there  would  be  one  law  in  the  whole  statute 
book  more  righteous  than  that  rvhich  should  require 
those  who  have  the  profit  of  making  our  drunkards  to 
be  burdened  with  the  support  of  them.” 

Multitudes  who  once  cherished  the  fond  anticipation 
of  happiness  in  this  life,  and  that  to  come,  there  is  reason 
to  believe  are  now  wailing  beyond  the  reach  of  hope, 
through  the  influence  of  ardent  spirit ; and  multitudes 
more,  if  men  continue  to  furnish  it  as  a drink,  especially 
sober  men,  will  go  down  to  weep  and  wail  with  them  to 
endless  ages. 

“ But,”  says  one,  “ the  traffic  in  ardent  spirit  is  a law- 
ful business ; it  is  approbated  by  law,  and  is  therefore 
right.”  But  the  keeping  of  gambling  houses  is,  in  some 
cases,  approbated  by  human  law.  Is  that  therefore  right  ? 
The  keeping  of  brothels  is,  in  some  cases,  approbated 
by  law.  Is  that  therefore  right?  Is  it  human  law  that  is 
the  standard  of  morality  and  religion?  IVIay  not  a man 
be  a notoriously  wicked  man,  and  yet  not  violate  human 
law  ? The  question  is,  is  it  right  ? Does  it  accord  with 
the  divine  law  ? Does  it  tend  in  its  effects  to  bring  glory 
to  God  in  the  highest,  and  to  promote  the  best  good  of 
mankind?  If  not,  the  word  of  God  forbids  it ; and  if  a 
man  who  has  the  means  of  understanding  its  nature  and 
effects  continues  to  follow  it,  he  does  it  at  the  peril  of  his 
soul. 

“ But,”  says  another,  “ if  I should  not  sell  it  I could 
not  sell  so  many  other  things.”  If  you  could  not,  then 
you  are  forbidden  by  the  word  of  God  to  sell  so  many 
other  things.  And  if  you  continue  to  make  money  by 
that  which  tends  to  destroy  your  fellow-men,  you  incur 
the  displeasure  of  Jehovah.  “ But  if  I should  not  sell 
it  I must  change  my  business.”  Then  you  are  required 
by  the  Lord  to  change  your  business.  A voice  from  the 


TRAFFIC  IN  ARDENT  SRIRIT. 


19 


3?5] 

throne  of  his  excellent  glory  cries,  “ Turn  ye,  turn  ye 
frorn  tliis  evil  way^;  for  why  will  ye  diel” 

“ If  I should  turn  from  it  I could  not  support  my 
family.”  This  is  not  true ; at  least  no  one  has  a rigTit  to 
say  that  it  is  true,  till  he  has  tried  it  and  done  his  whole 
duty,  by'  ceasing'  to  do  evil  and  learning  to  do  well,  trust- 
ing in  God,  and  has  found  that  his  family  is  not  supported, 
.fehovah  declares,  that  such  as  seek  the  Lord,  and  are 
governed  by  his  will,  shall  not  want  any  good  thing. 
And  till  men  have  made  the  experiment  of  obeying  hii.'i 
in. all  things,  and  found  that  they'  cannot  support  their 
families,  they  have  no  right  to  say  that  it  is  necessary 
for  them  to  sell  ardent  spirit.  And  if  they'  do  say  this, 
it  is  a libel  on  the  divine  character  and  government. 
There  is  no  truth  in  it.  He  who  feeds  the  sparrow  and 
clothes  the  lilh',  will,  if’they  do  right,  provide  for  them 
and  their  families;  and  there  is  no  shadow  of  necessity, 
in  order  to  obtain  support,  for  them  to  carry  on  a busi- 
ness which  destroys  their  fellow-men. 

“ But  others  will  do  it,  if  I do  not.”  Others  will  send 
out  tlieir  vessels,  steal  the  black  man,  and  sell  him  and 
his  children  into  perpetual  bondage,  if  you  do  not.  Others 
■will  steal,  rob,  and  commit  murder,  if  y'ou  do  not;  and 
why  may'  not  you  do  it,  and  have  a portion  of  the  profit, 
as  well  as  they  ? Because,  if  you  do  you  will  be  a thief, 
a robber,  and  a murderer,  like  them.  You  will  here  be 
partaker  of  their  guilt,  and  hereafter  of  their  plagues. 
Every  friend  therefore  to  you,  to  your  Maker,  or  the 
eternal  interests  of  men,  vrill,  if  acquainted  with  this 
subject,  say  to  you.  As  you  value  the  favor  of  God,  and 
would  escape  his  righteous  and  eternal  indignation,  re- 
nounce this  work  of  death ; for  he  that  soweth  death, 
shall  also  reap  death. 

“ But  our  fathers  imported,  manufactured,  and  sold 
ardent  spirit,  and  were  they  not  good  men?  Have  not 
they  gone  to  heaven?”  Men  who  professed  to  be  good 
once  had  a multiplicity'  of  wives,  and  have  not  some  of 
them  too  gone  to  heaven?  Men  who  professed  to  be  good 
once  were  engaged  in  the  slave  trade,  and  have  not  some 
of  them  gone  to  heaven?  But  can  men  who  understand 
the  will  of  God  with  regard  to  these  subjects,  continue 
to  do  such  things  now,  and  yet  go  to  heaven?  The  prin- 


20 


TRAFFIC  IN  ARDENT  SPIRIT. 


[376 


ciple  whicli  applies  in  this  case,  and  wliich  makes  the 
diiference  between  those  who  did  such  things  once,  and 
tliose  who^^continue  to  do  them  now,  is  that  to  which 
JeSus  Christ  referred  when  he  said,  If  I had  not  come 
and  spoken  to  them,  they  had  not  had  sin;  but  now  they 
have  no  cloak  for  their  sin.  The  days  of  that  darkness 
and  ignorance  v/hich  God  may  have  winked  at  have  gone 
by,  and  he  now  comraandeth  all  men  to  whom  his  will  is 
made  known  to  repent.  Your  fathers,  Avhen  they  were 
engaged  in  selling  ardent  spirit,  did  not  know  that  all 
men,  under  all  circumstances,  would  be  better  without  it. 
They  did  not  know  that  it  caused  three-quarters  of  the 
pauperism  and  crime  in  the  land — that  it  deprived  many 
of  reason — greatly  increased  the  number  and  severity  of 
diseases,  and  brought  down  such  multitudes  to  an  un- 
timely grave.  The  facts  had  not  then  been  collected 
and  published.  They  did  not  know  that  it  tended  se 
fatally  to  obstruct  the  progress  of  the  Gospel,  and  ruin, 
for  eternity,  the  souls  of  men.  You  do  know  it,  or  have 
the  means  of  knowing  it.  You  cannot  sin  with  as  little 
guilt  as  did  your  fathers.  The  fac's,  which  are  the 
voice  of  God  in  his  providence,  and  manifest  his  will, 
are  now  before  the  world.  By  th.cm  he  has  come  and 
spoken  to  you.  And  if  you  continue,  under  these  cir- 
cumstances, to  violate  his  will,  you  will  have  no  clqak, 
no  covering,  ho  excuse  for  your  sin.  And  though  sen- 
tence against  this  evil  work  is  not  executed  at  orce, 
judgment,  if  you  continue,  will  not  linger,  nor  will  dam- 
nation slumber. 

The  accessory  and  the  principal,  in  the  commission  of 
crime,  are  both  guilty.  Both  by  human  laws  are  con- 
demned. The  principle  applies  to  the  law  of  God;  and 
not  only  drunkards,  but  drunkard-makers — not  only  mur- 
derers, but  those  who  excite  others  to  commit  murder, 
and  furnish  them  with  the  known  cause  of  their  evil 
deeds,  will,  if  they  understand  what  they  do,  and  continue 
thus  to  rebel  against  God,  be  shut  out  of  heaven. 

Among  the  Jews,  if  a man  had  a beast  that  went  out 
and  killed  a man,  the  beast,  said  Jehovah,  shall  be  slain, 
and  his  flesh  shall  not  be  eaten.  The  owner  must  lose 
the  whole  of  him  as  a testimony  to  the  sacredness  of 
human  life,  and  a warning  to  all  not  to  do  any  thing,  or 


3/7]  TRAFFIC  IN  ARDENT  SPIRIT.  21 

connive  at  any  tiling  that  tended  to  destroy  it.  But  the 
owner,  if  he  did  not  know  that  the  beast  was  dangerous, 
and  liable  to  kill,  was  not  otherwise  to  be  punished. 
But  if  he  did  know,  if  it  had  been  testified  to  the  owner 
that  the  beast  was  dangerous,  and  liable  to  kill,  and  he 
did  not  keep  him  in,  but  let  him  go  out,  and  he  killed  a 
man,  then,  by  the  direction  of  Jehovah,  the  beast  and 
the  owner  were  both  to  be  put  to  death.  The  owner, 
under  these  circumstances,  was  held  responsible,  and 
justly  too,  for  the  injury  which  his  beast  might  do. 
Though  men  are  not  required  or  permitted  now  to  exe- 
cute this  law,  as  they  were  when  God  was  the  Magis- 
trate, yet  the  reason  of  the  law  remains.  It  is  founded 
in  justice,  and  is  eternal.  To  the  pauperism,  crime,  sich 
ness,  insanity,  and  death,  temporal  and  eternal,  which 
ardent  spirit  occasions,  those  who  knowingly  furnish  the 
materials,  those  who  manufacture,  and  those  who  sell  it, 
are  all  accessory,  and  as  such  will  be  held  responsible  at 
the  divine  tribunal.  There  was  a time  when  the  owners 
did  not  know  the  dangerous  and  destructive  qualities  of 
this  article — when  the  facts  had  not  been  developed  and 
published,  nor  the  minds  of  men  turned  to  the  subject ; 
when  they  did  not  know  that  it  caused  such  a vast  por- 
tion of  the  vice  and  wretchedness  of  the  community, 
and  such  wide-spreading  desolation  to  the  temporal  and 
eternal  interests  of  men  ; and  although  it  then  destroyed 
thousands,  for  both  worlds,  the  guilt  of  the  men  who 
sold  it  was  comparatively  small.  But  now  they  sin 
against  light,  pouring  down  upon  them  with  unutterable 
brightness ; and  if  they  know  what  they  do,  and  in  full 
view  of  its  consequences  continue  that  work  of  death — 
not  only  let  the  poison  go  out,  but  furnish  it,  and  send 
it  out  to  all  who  are  disposed  to  purchase — it  had  been 
better  for  them,  and  better  for  many  others,  if  they  had 
never  been  born.  For, 

1.  It  is  the  selling  of  that,  without  the  use  of  which 
nearly  all  the  business  of  this  world  was  conducted,  till 
within  less  than  three  hundred  years,  and  which  of  course 
is  not  needful. 

2.  It  is  the  selling  of  that  which  was  not  generally 
used  by  the  people  of  this  country  for  more  than  a hun- 
dred years  after  the  country  was  settled,  and  which  by 


22 


TRAFriC  IN  ARDENT  SPIRIT. 


[378 


hundreds  of  thousands,  and  some  in  all  kinds  of  lawful 
business,  is  not  used  now.  Once  they  did  use  it,  and 
thought  it  needful  or  useful.  But  by  experiment,  the 
best  evidence  in  the  world,  they  have  found  that  they 
were  mistaken,  and  that  they  are  in  all  respects  better 
without  it.  And  the  cases  are  so  numerous  as  to  make 
it  certain,  that  should  the  experiment  be  fairly  made, 
this  ivoukl  be  the  case  with  all.  Of  course  it  is  not  useful. 

3.  It  is  the  selling  of  that  which  is  a.  real,  a subtil  and 
very  destructive  poison;  a poison  which  by  men  in  health 
cannot  be  taken  without  deranging  healthy  action,  and 
inducing  more  or  less  disease,  both  of  body  and  mind  ; 
which  is,  when  taken  in  any  quantity,  positively  hurtful; 
and  which  is  of  course  forbidden  by  the  word  of  God. 

4.  It  is  the  selling  of  that  which  tends  to  form  an  un- 
natural, and  a very  dangerous  and  destructive  appetite: 
which,  by  gratification,  like  the  desire  of  sinning  in  the 
man  who  sins,  tends  continually  to  increase,  and  ivhich 
thus  exposes  all  who  form  it  to  come  to  a premature 
grave. 

5.  It  is  the  selling  of  that  wliicli  causes  a great  por- 
tion of  all  the  pauperism  in  our  land;  and  ihus'for  the 
benefit  of  a few  (those  who  sell)  brings  an  enormous  tax 
on  the  whole  community.  Is  this  fair?  Is  it  just?  Is  it 
not  exposing  our  children  and  youth  to  become  drunk- 
ards? And  is  it  not  inflicting  great  evils  on  society  ? 

6.  It  is  the  selling  of  that  which  excites  to  a great 
portion  of  all  the  crimes  that  are  committed,  and  which 
is  thus  shown  to  be  in  its  effects  hostile  to  the  moral 
government  of  God,  and  to  the  socia-l,  civil,  and  religious 
interests  of  men ; at  war  with  their  highest  good,  both 
for  this  life  and  the  life  to  come. 

7.  It  is  the  selling  of  that,  the  sale  and  use  of  which, 
if  continued,  will  form  intemperate  appetites,  which,  if 
formed,  will  be  gratihed,  and  thus  will  perpetuate  intem- 
perance, and  all  its  abominations,  to  the  end  of  the  world. 

8.  It  is  the  selling  of  that  which  makes  wives  widows, 
and  children  orphans;  which  leads  husbands  often  to 
murder  their  wives,  and  wives  to  murder  their  husbands ; 
parents  to  murder  their  children,  and  children  to  murder 
their  parents;  and  which  prepares  multitudes  for  the 
prison,  for  the  gallows,  and  for  hell. 


TIIAFFIC  TN  ARDFNT  SPIRIT. 


23 


379] 

9.  It  is  the  selling  of  that  which  greatly  increases  the 
amount  and  severity  of  sickness;  which  in  many  cases 
destroys  reason;  which  causes  a great  portion  of  all  the 
sudden  deaths,  and  brings  down  multitudes  tvho  were 
never  intoxicated,  and  never  condemned  to  suffer  the 
penalty  of  the  civil  law,  to  an  untimely  grave. 

10.  It  is  the  selling  of  that  which  tends  to  lessen  the 
health,  the  reason,  and  the  usefulness,  to  diminish  the 
comfort,  and  shorten  the  lives  of  all  who  habitually 
use  it. 

11.  It  is  the  selling  of  that  which  darkens  the  under- 
standing, sears  the  conscience,  pollutes  the  affections, 
and  debases  all  the  powers  of  man. 

12.  It  is  the  selling  of  that  which  weakens  the  power 
of  motives  to  do  right,  and  increases  the  power  of  mo- 
tives to  do  wrong,  and  is  thus  sliown  to  be  in  its  effects 
hostile  to  the  moral  government  of  God,  as  w^ell  as  to  the 
temporal  and  eternal  interests  of  men ; which  excites 
men  to  rebel  against  him,  and  to  injure  and  destroy  one 
another.  And,  as  no  man  can  sell  it  without  exerting  an 
influence  which  tends  to  hinder  the  reign  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  over  the  minds  and  hearts  of  men,  and  to 
lead  them  to  persevere  in  iniquity,  til!,  notwithstanding 
all  the  kindness  of  Jehovah,  their  case  shall  become 
hopeless. 

Suppose  a man,  when  about  to  commence  the  traffic 
in  ardent  spirit,  should  write  in  great  capitals  on  his  sign- 
board, to  be  seen  and  read  of  all  men,  what  he  will  do, 
viz.  that  so  many  of  the  inhabitants  of  tins  town  or  city, 
he  will,  for  the  sake  of  getting  their  money,  make  pau- 
pers, and  send  them  to  the  alms-house,  and  thus  oblige 
ibe  whole  communitv  to  support  them  and  their  families; 
that  so  many  others  ne  will  excite  to  the  commission  of 
crimes,  and  thus  increase  the  expenses,  and  endanger  the 
peace  and  welfare  of  the  community ; that  so  many  he 
will  send  to  the  jail,  and  so  many  more  to  the  state  pri- 
son, and  so  many  to  the  gallows;  that  so  many  he  will 
visit  with  sore  and  distressing  diseases ; and  in  so  many 
cases  diseases  which  W'ould  have  been  comparatively 
harmless,  he  will  by  his  poison  render  fatal ; that  in  so 
many  cases  he  will  deprive  persons  of  reason,  and  in  so 
3 


24 


TRAFFIC  IX  ARDENT  SPIRIT. 


[3S0 


many  cases  will  cause  sudden  death  ; that  so  many  wives 
he  will  make  widows,  and  so  many  children  he  will  make 
orphans,  and  that  in  so  many  cases  he  will  cause  the 
children  to  grow  up  in  ignorance,  vice,  and  crime,  and 
after  being  nuisances  on  earth,  wall  bring  them  to  a pre- 
mature grave;  that  in  so  many  cases  he  will  prevent  the 
efficacy  of  the  Gospel,  grieve  away  the  Holy  Ghost,  and 
ruin  for  eternity  the  souls  of  men.  And  suppose  he 
could,  and  should  give  some  faint  conception  of  what  it 
is  to  lose  the  soul,  and  of  the  overwhelming  guilt  and 
coming  wretchedness  of  him  who  is  knowingly  instru- 
mental in  producing  this  ruin;  and  suppose  he  should 
put  at  the  bottom  of  the  sign  this  question,  viz.  What, 
you  may  ask,  can  be  my  object  in  acting  so  much  like  a 
devil  incarnate,  and  bringing  such  accumulated  wretch- 
edness upon  a comparatively  happy  people?  and  under 
it  should  put  the  true  answer,  money;  and  go  on  to  say, 
I have  a family  to  support;  I want  money,  and  must 
hnve  it ; this  is  my  business,  I was  brought  up  to  it. 
And  if  I should  not  follow  it  I must  change  mj' business, 
or  I could  not  support  my  family.  And  as  all  faces 
begin  to  gather  blackness  at  the  approaching  ruin,  and 
all  hearts  to  boil  with  indignation  at  its  author,  suppose 
he  should  add  for  their  consolation,  “ If  I do  not  bring 
this  destruction  upon  you  somebody  else  will.”  What 
w'ould  they  think  of  him  ? what  would  all  the  world 
think  of  him?  what  ought  they  to  think  of  him?  And 
is  it  any  worse  for  a man  to  tell  the  people  beforehand 
honestly  w'hat  he  will  do,  if  they  buy  and  use  his  poison, 
than  it  is  to  go  on  and  do  it?  And  w’hat  if  they  are  not 
aware  of  the  mischief  which  he  is  doing  them,  and  he 
can  accomplish  it  through  their  own  perverted  and  vo- 
luntary agency?  Is  it  not  equally  abominable,  if  he 
hnows  it,  and  does  not  cease  from  producing  it? 

And  if  there  are  churches  whose  members  are  doing 
such  things,  and  those  churches  are  not  blessed  with  the 
presence  and  favor  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  they  need  not  be 
at  any  loss  for  the  reason.  And  if  they  should  never 
again,  while  they  continue  in  this  state,  be  blessed  with 
the  reviving  influence  of  God’s  Spirit,  they  need  not  be 
at  any  loss  for  the  reason.  Their  own  members  are 
exerting  a strong  and  fatal  influence  againsl  it ; and  that 


TRAFFIC  IN  ARDENT  SPIRIT. 


25 


381] 

too  after  Divine  Providence  has  shown  them  what  they 
are  doing.  And  in  many  such  cases  there  is  awful  guilt 
with  regard  to  this  thing  resting  upon  the  whole  church. 
Though  they  have  known  for  years  what  these  men  were 
doing;  have  seen  the  misery,  heard  the  oaths,  witnessed 
the  crimes,  and  known  the  wretchedness  and  deaths  which 
they  have  occasioned,  and  perhaps  have  spoken  of  it,  and 
deplored  it  among  one  another ; man)^  of  them  have  never 
spoken  on  this  subject  to  the  persons  themselves.  They 
have  seen  them  scattering  firebrands,  arrows,  and  death, 
temporal  and  eternal,  and  yet  have  never  so  much  as 
warned  them  on  the  subject,  and  never  besought  them  to 
give  up  their  work  of  death.  An  individual  lately  con- 
versed with  one  of  his  professed  Christian  brethren  who 
•was  engaged  in  this  traffic,  and  told  him  not  only  that  he 
was  ruining  for  botli  worlds  many  of  his  fellow-men, 
but  that  his  Christian  brethren  viewed  his  business  as 
inconsistent  with  his  profession,  and  tending  to  counter- 
act all  efforts  for  the  salvation  of  men;  and  the  man, 
after  frankly  acknosvledging  that  it  was  wrong,  said  that 
this  was  the  first  time  that  any  of  them  had  conversed 
with  him  on  the  subject.  This  may  be  the  case  with 
other  churches;  and  wliilc  it  is,  the  vffiole  church  is  con- 
niving at  the  evil,  and  ihe  whole  church  is  guilty.  Every 
brother,  in  such  a case,  is  bound,  on  his  own  account,  to 
converse  with  him  who  is  thus  aiding  the  powers  of 
darkness,  and  opposing  the  kingdom  of  .lesus  Christ, 
and  try  to  persuade  him  to  cease  from  this  destructive 
business.  And  the  whole  church  is  bound  to  make  efforts, 
and  use  all  proper  means  to  accomplish  this  result.  And 
before  half  the  individual  members  have  done  their  duty 
on  this  subject,  they  may  expect,  if  the  offending  brother 
has,  and  manifests  the  spirit  of  Christ,  that  he  will  cease 
to  be  an  offence  to  his  brethren,  and  a stumbling  block 
to  the  world,  over  which  such  multitudes  fail  to  the  pit 
of  wo.  And  till  the  church,  the  whole  church,  do  their 
duty  on  this  subject,  they  cannot  be  freed  from  the  guilt 
of  conniving  at  the  evil.  And  no  wonder  if  the  Lord 
leaves  them  to  be  as  the  mountains  of  Gilboa,  on  which 
there  was  neither  rain  or  dew.  And  should  the  church 
receive  from  the  world  those  who  make  it  a business  to 
carry  on  this  notoriously  immoral  traffic,  they  will  greatly 
VoL.  4 


26  TRAFFIC  IN  ARDENT  SPIRIT-  [3S2 

increase  their  guilt,  and  ripen  for  the  awful  displeasure 
of  their  God.  And  unless  members  of  the  church  shall 
cease  to  teach,  by  their  business,  that  fatal  error  that  it 
is  right  for  men  to  buy  and  use  ardent  spirit  as  a drink, 
the  evil  will  never  be  eradicated,  intemperance  whll  never 
cease,  and  the  day  of  millennial  glory  never  come.  And 
each  individual  who  names  the  name  of  Christ,  is  called 
upon,  by  the  providence  of  God,  to  act  on  this  subject 
openly  and  decidedly  for  him,  and  in  such  a manner  as 
is  adapted  to  banish  intemperance,  and  all  its  abomina- 
tions from  the  earth,  and  to  cause  temperance,  and  all  its 
attendant  benefits,  universally  to  prevail.  And  if  minis- 
ters of  the  Gospel,  and  members  of  Christian  churches, 
do  not  connive  at  the  sin  of  furnishing  this  poison  as  a 
drink  for  their  fellow-men ; and  men  who,  in  opposition 
to  truth  and  duty,  continue  to  be  engaged  in  this  destruc- 
tive employment,  are  viewed  and  treated  as  wicked  men; 
the  work  w’hich  the  Lord  hath  commenced  and  carried 
forward  with  a rapidity,  and  to  an  extent  hitherto  unexam- 
pled in  the  history  of  the  world,  will  continue  to  move 
onw^ard  till  not  a name,  nor  a trace,  nor  a shadow  of  a 
drunkard  or  a drunkard-maker  shall  be  found  on  the  globe. 

Professed  Christian, — In  the  manufacture  or  sale  of 
ardent  spirit  as  a drink,  you  do  not,  and  you  cannot 
honor  God  ; but  you  do,  and  so  long  as  you  continue  it 
you  w'ill,  greatly  dishonor  Him.  You  exert  an  influence 
which  tends  directly  and  strongly  to  ruin,  for  both  worlds, 
yo-ur  fellow-men.  Should  you  take  a quantity  of  that 
poisonous  liquid  into  your  closet,  present  it  before  the 
Lord  ; confess  to  him  its  nature  and  effects,  spread  out 
before  him  what  it  has  done  and  what  it  will  do,  and 
attempt  to  ask  him  to  bless  you  in  extending  its  influ- 
ence; it  would,  unless  your  conscience  is  already  seared 
as  wdth  a hot  iron,  appear  to  you  like  blasphemy.  You 
could  no  more  do  it  than  you  could  take  the  instruments 
of  gambling  and  attempt  to  ask  God  to  bless  you  in  ex- 
tending them  through  the  community.  And  w'hy  not,  if 
it  is  a lawful  business?  Why  not  ask  God  to  increase  it, 
and  make  you  an  instrument  in  extending  it  over  the 
country,  and  perpetuating  it  to  all  future  generations. 
Even  the  worldly  and  profane  man,  when  he  hears  about 
professing  Christians  offering  prayer  to  God  that  he 


383] 


TRAFFIC  IN  ARDENT  SPIRIT. 


27 


would  bless  them  in  the  manufacture  or  sale  of  ardent 
spirit,  involuntarily  shrinks  back  and  says,  “ That  is  too 
bad.”  He  can  see  that  it  is  an  abomination.  And  if  it  is 
too  bad  for  a professed  Christian  to  pray  about  it,  is  it 
not  too  bad  for  him  to  practise  it?  If  you  continue,  under 
all  the  light  which  God  in  his  providence  has  furnished 
with  regard  to  its  hurtful  nature  and  destructive  effects, 
to  furnish  ardent  spirit  as  a drink  for  your  fellow-men, 
you  will  run  the  fearful  hazard  of  losing  your  soul,  and 
you  will  exert  an  influence  which  powerfully  tends  to 
destroy  the  souls  of  your  fellow-men.  Every  time  you 
furnish  it  you  are  rendering  it  less  likely  that  they  will 
be  illuminated,  sanctified,  and  saved,  and  more  likely 
that  they  will  continue  in  sin  and  go  down  to  the  cham- 
bers of  death. 

It  is  always  worse  for  a church  member  to  do  an  im- 
moral act,  and  teach  an  immoral  sentiment,  than  for  an 
immoral  man,  because  it  does  greater  mischief.  And  this 
is  understood,  and  often  adverted  to  by  the  immoral 
themselves.  Even  drunkards  are  now  stating  it  to  their 
fellow  drunkards,  that  church  members  are  not  better 
than  they.  And  to  prove  it,  are  quoting  the  fact,  that 
although  they  are  not  drunkards,  and  perhaps  do  not 
get  drunk,  they,  for  the  sake  of  money,  carry  on  the 
business  of  making  drunkards.  And  are  not  the  men 
and  their  business  of  the  same  character?  “ The  dea- 
con,” says  a drunkard,  “ will  not  use  ardent  spirit  him- 
self; he  says  ‘ It  is  poison  !’  But  for  six  cents  he  will 
sell  it  to  me.  And  though  he  will  not  furnish  it  to  his 
own  children,  for  he  says,  ‘ It  will  ruin  them,’  yet  he 
will  furnish  it  to  mine.  And  there  is  my  neighbor,  who 
was  once  as  sober  as  the  deacon  him«elf,  but  he  had  a 
pretty  farm,  which  the  deacon  wanted,  and  for  the  sake 
of  getting  it  he  has  made  him  a drunkard.  And  his 
wife,  as  good  a woman  as  ever  lived,  has  died  of  a broken 
heart,  because  her  children  would  follow  their  father.” 
No,  you  cannot  convince  even  a drunkard,  that  the  man 
who  is  selling  him  that  which  he  knows  is  killing  him, 
is  any  better  than  the  drunkard  himself.  Nor  can  you 
convince  a sober  man,  that  he  who  for  the  sake  of  money 
will,  with  his  eyes  open,  make  drunkards  of  sober  men, 
is  any  less  guilty  than  the  drunkards  he  makes. 


28 


TRAFFIC  IN  ARDENT  SPIRIT. 


[3S4 


Is  this  writing  upon  their  employment  “ Holiness 
unto  the  Lord,”  without  which  no  one,  from  the  Bible, 
can  expect  to  be  prepared  for  the  holy  joys  of  heaven? 
As  ardent  spirit  is  a poison  which,  when  used  even  mode- 
rately, tends  to  harden  the  heart,  to  sear  the  conscience, 
to  blind  the  understanding,  to  pollute  the  alfecticns,  to 
■weaken,  and  derange,  and  debase  the  whole  man,  and  to 
lessen  the  prospect  of  his  eternal  life,  it  is  the  indispen- 
sible  duty  of  each  person  to  renounce  it.  And  he  can- 
not refuse  to  do  this  without  becoming,  if  acquainted 
with  this  subject,  knowingly  accessory  to  the  temporal 
and  eternal  ruin  of  his  fellow-men.  And  what  will  it 
profit  him  to  gain  even  the  whole  world  by  that  wdiich 
ruins  the  soul  ? My  friend,  you  are  soon  to  die,  and  in 
eternity  to  witness  the  influence,  the  whole  influence 
which  you  exert  while  on  earth,  and  you  are  to  wdtness 
its  consequence  in  joy  or  sorrow  to  endless  being.  Ima- 
gine yourself  now,  where  you  soon  will  be,  on  your 
death-bed.  And  imagine  that  you  have  a full  view  of  the 
property  w'hich  you  have  caused  to  be  wasted,  or  which 
you  have  gained  without  furnishing  any  valuable  equiva- 
lent ; of  the  health  which  you  have  destroyed,  and  the 
characters  which  you  have  demoralized  ; of  the  wives 
that  you  have  made  widows,  and  the  children  that  you 
have  made  orphans ; of  all  the  lives  that  you  have  short- 
ened, and  all  the  souls  that  you  have  destroyed.  O ! 
imagine  that  these  are  the  only  “ rod  and  staff”  which 
you  have  to  comfort  you  as  you  go  down  the  valley  of 
the  shadow  of  death,  and  that  they  will  all  meet  you  in 
full  array  at  the  judgment  and  testify  against  you.  AVhat 
will  it  profit  you  though  you  have  gained  more  money 
than  you  otherwise  tvould ; when  you  have  left  it  all  far 
behind  in  that  w'orld  which  is  destined  to  fire,  and  the 
day  of  perdition  of  ungodly  men  ? What  will  it  profit 
when  you  are  enveloped  in  the  influence  which  you 
have  exerted,  and  are  experiencing  its  consequences  to 
endless  ages;  finding  for  ever  that  as  a man  soweth  so 
must  he  reap,  and  that  if  he  has  sowed  death  he  must 
reap  death?  Do  not  any  longer  assist  in  destroying  men, 
nor  expose  j’ourself  and  your  children  to  be  destroyed. 
Do  good,  and  good  only,  to  all  as  you  have  opportunity, 
and  good  shall  come  unto  you. 


THE 


No.  159, 


REWARDS 

OF 

DRUNKENNESS. 


you  will  be. 

If  you  seek  to  prevent  your  friends  raising  you  in  the 
world,  be  a Drunkard  i for  that  will  defeat  all  their  efforts. 

If  you  would  effectually  counteract  your  own  attempts  to 
do  well,  be  a Drunkard ; and  you  will  not  be  disappointed. 

If  you  wish  to  repel  the  endeavors  of  the  whole  human 
race  to  raise  you  to  character,  credit,  and  prosperity,  be  a 
Drunkard ; and  you  will  most  assuredly  triumph. 

If  you  are  determined  to  be  poor,  be  a Drunkard ; and 
you  will  soon  be  ragged  and  pennyless. 

If  you  would  wish  to  starve  your  family,  be  a Drunkard ; 
for  that  will  consume  the  means  of  their  support. 

If  you  would  be  imposed  on  by  knaves,  be  a Drunkard ; 
for  that  will  make  their  task  easy. 

Vol.  6, 


B 


2 REWARDS  OF  DRUNKENNESS.  [22 

If  you  would  wish  to  be  robbed,  be  a Drunkard;  which 
will  enable  the  thief  to  do  it  with  more  safety. 

If  you  would  wish  to  blunt  your  senses,  be  a Drunkard  ; 
and  you  will  soon  be  more  stupid  than  an  ass. 

If  you  would  become  a fool,  be  a Drunkard ; and  you 
v/ill  soon  lose  your  understanding. 

If  you  wish  to  unfit  yourself  for  rational  intercourse,  be 
a Drunkard ; for  that  will  accomplish  your  purpose. 

If  you  are  resolved  to  kill  yourself,  be  a Drunkard ; that 
being  a sure  mode  of  destruction. 

If  you  would  expose  both  your  folly  and  secrets,  be  a 
Drunkard ; and  they  will  soon  be  made  known. 

If  you  think  you  are  too  strong,  be  a Drunkard ; and  v'ou 
will  soon  be  subdued  by  so  powerful  an  enemy. 

If  you  would  get  rid  of  your  money  without  knowing 
how,  be  a Drunkard ; and  it  will  vanish  insensibly. 

If  you  would  have  no  resource  when  past  labor  but  a 
workhouse,  be  a Drunkard;  and  jmu  will  be  unable  to  pro- 
vide any. 

If  you  are  determined  to  expel  all  comfon  from  your 
house,  be  a Drunkard ; and  you  will  soon  do  it  effectually. 

If  you  would  be  always  under  strong  suspicion,  be  a 
Drunkard ; for,  little  as  you  think  it,  all  agree  that  those 
who  steal  from  themselves  and  families  will  rob  others. 

If  you  would  be  reduced  to  the  necessity  of  shunning 
your  creditors,  be  a Drunkard;  and  you  will  soon  have 
reason  to  prefer  the  by-paths  to  the  public  streets. 

If  you  would  be  a dead  weight  on  the  community,  and 
“ cumber  the  ground,”  be  a Drunkard  ; for  that  will  render 
you  useless,  helpless,  burthensome,  and  expensive. 

If  you  would  be  a nuisance,  be  a Drunkard ; for  the  ap- 
proach of  a Drunkard  is  like  that  of  a dunghill. 

If  you  would  be  hated  by  your  family  and  friends,  be  a 
Drunkard ; and  you  will  soon  be  more  than  disagreeable. 

If  you  would  be  a pest  to  society,  be  a Drunkard ; and 
you  will  be  avoided  as  infectious. 

If  you  do  not  wish  to  have  your  faults  reformed,  continue 
to  be  a Drunkard ; and  you  will  not  care  for  good  advice. 

If  you  would  smash  windows,  break  the  peace,  get  your 
bones  broken,  tumble  under  carts  and  horses,  and  be  locked 
up  in  watch-houses,  be  a Drunkard ; and  it  will  be  strange 
if  you  do  not  succeed, 


23] 


REWARDS  OF  DRUNKENNESS. 


3 


If  you  wish  all  your  prospects  in  life  to  be  clouded,  be  a 
Drunkard ; and  they  will  soon  be  dark  enough. 

If  you  w'ould  destroy  your  body,  be  a Drunkard ; as 
drunkenness  is  the  mother  of  disease. 

If  you  mean  to  ruin  your  soul,  be  a Drunkard ; that  you 
may  be  excluded  from  heaven. 

Finally,  if  you  are  determined  to  be  utterly  destroyed,  in 
estate,  body,  and  soul,  be  a Drunkard ; and  you  will  soon 
know  that  it  is  impossible  to  adopt  a more  effectual  means 
to  accomplish  your — END. 

“ All  the  crimes  on  earth,”  says  Lord  Bacon,  “ do  not  de- 
stroy so  many  of  the  human  race,  nor  alienate  so  much  fro- 
perty  as  drunkenness” 

Drunkenness  expels  reason — drowns  the  memory — de- 
faces beauty — diminishes  strength — inflames  the  blood — 
causes  internal,  external,  and  incurable  wounds — is  a witch 
to  the  senses,  a devil  to  the  soul,  a thief  to  the  purse — the 
beggar’s  companion,  the  wife’s  wo,  and  children’s  sorrow — 
makes  a strong  man  weak,  and  a wise  man  a fool.  He  is 
worse  than  a beast,  and  is  a self-murderer,  who  drinks  to 
others’  good  health,  and  robs  himself  of  his  own.  He  is 
worse  than  a beast,  for  no  animal  will  desigaiedly  intoxicate 
itself;  but  a drunkard  swallows  his  liquor,  well  knowing  the 
condition  to  which  it  rvill  reduce  him,  and  that  these  draughts 
will  deprive  him  of  the  use  of  his  reason,  and  render  him 
worse  than  a beast.  By  the  effects  of  liquor  his  evil  passions 
and  tempers  are  freed  from  restraint ; and,  while  in  a state  of 
intoxication,  he  commits  actions  which,  when  sober,  he  would 
have  shuddered  to  have  thought  of  Many  an  evil  deed  has 
been  done,  many  a murder  has  been  committed,  when 
those  who  did  these  things  were  intoxicated. 

Tremble,  then,  if  ever  you  taste  the  intoxicating  draught. 
Reflect,  before  you  put  the  cup  to  your  lips.  Remember 
that  you  are  forming  a hSbit  which  will  lead  on  to  the  com- 
mission of  every  crime  to  which  the  propensities  of  your 
nature,  rendered  violent  by  indulgence,  can  urge  you.  Be- 
fore you  are  aware,  you  may  find  yourself  awaking  from  a 
fit  of  intoxication^uilty  of  offences  against  the  laws  of  your 
country  whichi^l  draw  down  just  vengeance  upon  your 
head ; abhorrjPg  yourself,  and  an  abhorrence  in  the  sight 
of  heaven. 


3* 


4 


REWARDS  OF  DRUNKENNESS. 


[24 


Drunkenness,  persisted  in,  will  assuredly  destroy  your 
soul,  and  consign  you  to  everlasting  misery.  Hear  what  the 
word  of  God  declares. 

“ Awake,  ye  drunkards,  and  weepP  Joel,  1 : 5. 

“ Who  hath  wo  ? who  hath  sorrow  ? who  hath  contention  ? 
who  hath  wounds  without  cause  ? They  that  tarry  long  at 
the  wine,  they  that  go  to  'seek  mixed  wine.  Took  not  thou 
upon  the  wine — at  the  last  it  biteth  like  a serpent,  and  sting- 
eth  like  an  adder."  Prov.  23  : 29-32. 

“ Wo  unto  them  that  rise  up  in  the  morning,  that  they 
may  follow  strong  drink,  that  continue  until  night,  till  wine 
inflame  them!"  Isaiah,  5 ; 11. 

“ Wo  unto  them  that  are  mighty  to  drink  wine,  and  men 
of  strength  to  mingle  strong  drink."  Isaiah,  5 : 22. 

“ The  works  of  the  flesh  are  manifest,  which  are  these : 
uncleanness,  murders,  drunkenness,  revellings,  and  such 
like ; of  the  which  I tell  you,  that  they  which  do  such  things 
shall  not  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God."  Gal.  5 ; 19,  21. 

These  are  awful  declarations,  and  they  will  certainly  be 
fulfilled  upon  him  who  continues  to  delight  in  drunkenness ; 
he  cannot  enjoy  the  love  of  God,  he'  will  not  he  received 
into  heaven. 

Separate  yourself,  then,  utterly  from  this  ensnaring  sin. 
“Touch  not;  taste  not;  handle  not.”  In  ENTIRE  AB- 
STINENCE is  your  only  safety.  This  persevered  in,  j'ou 
shall  never  fall.  Wherever  and  however  the  temptation  is 
presented,  “ avoid  it — turn  from  it,  and  pass  away.”  Turn 
also  from  every  sin.  “ Commit  your  way  unto  the  Lord,” 
and  he  will  “ direct  your  paths.”  A glorious  provision  is 
made  for  your  salvation,  through  the  aton^g  blood  of  Christ. 
“ God  so  loved  the  world,  that  he  gave  his  only-hegotten 
Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him  should  not  perish, 
but  have  everlasting  life.”  John,  3 : 16.  Commit  your  soul 
and  your  all  to  him.  He  will  guide  you  through  life,  en- 
able you  to  vanquish  every  foe,  and  crown  you  with  vic- 
tory in  heaven. 


PRINTED  FOR  T 


AMERICAN  TRACT  SOClEl 

No.  150  Nassau-street.  New-York. 


No.  176, 


THE 

WELL-CONDUCTED  FARM. 


Mr.  B — — , a respectable  farmer  in  Massachusetts,  came, 
a number  of  years  ago,  into  the  possession  of  a farm  of 
about  600  acres.  On  this  farm  he  employed  eight  or  ten 
men.  These  men  were  in  the  habit,  and  had  been  for  years, 
of  taking  each  a portion  of  ardent  spirit,  when  they  la- 
bored, every  day.  They  had  grown  up  in  the  practice  of 
taking  it,  and  the  idea  was  fixed  in  their  minds  that  they 
could  not  do  without.  It  was  the  common  opinion  in  the 
place,  that,  for  laboring  men,  who  had  to  work  hard,  some 
ardent  spirit  was  necessary.  Mr.  B for  a time  follow- 

ed the  common  practice,  and  furnished  his  men  with  a 
portion  of  spirit  daily.  But,  after  much  attentive  obser- 
vation, and  mature  reflection,  he  became  deeply  impress- 
ed with  the  conviction  that  the  practice  was  not  only 
useless,  but  hurtful.  He  became  convinced  that  it  tends 
Vol.  5.  H 2 


2 


THE  WELL-CONDUCTED  FARM. 


[174 


to  lead  men  to  intemperance ; to  undermine  their  consti- 
tutions ; and  to  sow  the  seeds  of  death,  temporal  and  eter- 
nal. And  he  felt  that  he  could  not  be  justified  in  conti- 
nuing to  cultivate  his  farm  by  means  of  a practice  which 
was  ruining  the  bodies  and  souls  of  his  fellow  men.  He 
therefore  called  his  men  together,  and  told  them,  in  a kind 
and  faithful  manner,  his  feelings.  He  told  them  that  he 
was  perfectly  satisfied  that  the  practice  of  taking  ardent 
spirits  was  not  onl}'  needless,  but  hurtful — that  it  tended 
to  weaken  and  destroy  both  the  body  and  mind ; and  that 
he  could  not,  consistently  w'ith  his  duty,  be  instrumental  in 
continuing  a practice  which  he  had  no  doubt  tended  to  de- 
stroy them  both  for  this  world  aud  the  world  to  come.  He 
therefore,  from  that  time,  should  furnish  them  M'ith  no  ar- 
dent spirits. 

One  of  them  said  that  lie  could  not  work  without  it;  aud 
if  he  did  not  furnish  them  with  it,  he  v.'ould  not  stay  with 

him.  “ Very  well,”  said  Mr.  B , “ hand  me  your  bill, 

and  be  off."  The  man  replied,  that  he  presumed  all  the 

others  would  leave  him.  very  well, ’said  Mr.  B ,’ten 

them,  any  of  them  who  choose  to  leave — all  of  them,  if 
they  choose  to  go,  to  hand  in  their  bills,  and  they  shall 
have  their  money  to-night.  If  they  stay,  however,  they 
shall  have  nourishing  food  and  drink,  at  any  time,  and  in 
any  abundance  which  they  wish  ; and  at  the  close  of  the 
year  each  one  shall  have  twelve  dollars,  that  is,  one  dollar 
a mouth,  in  addition  to  his  wages.  But  I shall  furnish  no 
spirits  of  any  kind,  neither  shall  I have  it  taken  by  men 
in  my  employment.  I had  rather  my  farm  would  grow  up 
to  weeds,  than  be  cultivated  by  means  of  so  pernicious  a 
practice  as  that  of  taking  ardeut  spirits.  However,  none 
of  the  men  left,  except  that  one.  And  when  he  saw  that 
all  the  others  concluded  to  stay,  lie  came  back,  and  said, 
that  as  the  others  concluded  to  stay  and  do  without  rum, 
he  believed  that  he  could,  and  he  should  be  glad  to  stav 

too,  if  Mr.  B had  no  objection.  But  he  told  him,  no ; 

he  did  not  wish  him  to  stay  ; he  would  make  of  him  an 
example,  and  he  must  go.  So  he  departed.  The  rest  went 
to  work,  and  he  furnished  them  with  no  spirits  from  that 
time  through  the  season.  Yet  his  work,  he  said,  was  done 
“ ivith  less  trouble,  in  a better  manner,  and  in  better  sea- 
son, than  ever  before.”  Some  of  his  men,  however,  he 


176]  THE  WELL-CONDUCTED  FARM.  3 

found,  when  they  went  abroad,  did  take  ardent  spirits. 
They  sometimes  procured  it  at  the  tavern,  or  a store ; and 
in  some  instances  took  it  secretly,  while  on  his  farm.  The 
evil,  therefore,  although  greatly  lessened,  was  not  entire- 
ly done  away. 

When  he  came  to  hire  men  again,  he  let  it  be  known 
that  he  did  not  wisli  to  hire  any  man  who  was  not  willing 
to  abstain  entirely,  and  at  all  times,  from  the  use  of  ardent 
spirits.  His  neighbours  told  him  that  he  could  not  hire 
men  on  those  conditions  ; that  men  could  not  be  found 
who  would  do  without  rum,  especially  in  haying  and  har- 
vesting. Well,  he  said,  then  he  would  not  hire  them  at 
all.  His  farm  should  grow  up  to  weeds.  As  to  cultivating 
it  by  the  help  of  rum,  he  would  not.  By  allowing  men  in 
his  employment,  and  for  whose  conduct  he  was  in  a mea- 
sure responsible,  to  take  ardent  spirits,  he  should  be  lend- 
ing his  influence  to  continue  a practice,  or  he  should  at 
least  be  conniving  at  a practice,  which  was  “ destroying 
more  lives,  making  more  mothers  widows,  and  children 
orphans,  than  famine,  pestilence,  and  sword  : a practice 
which  was  destroying  by  thousands,  and  tens  of  thousands, 
not  only  the  bodies  but  the  souls  of  men,  rendering  them, 
and  their  children  after  them,  wretched  for  this  v/orld, 
and  the  world  to  come.  No,”  said  he,  “ I will  clear  my 
hands  of  this  enormous  guilt.  I will  not  by  practice  en- 
courage, or  by  silence,  or  having  men  in  my  employment 
who  take  ardent  spirits,  connive  at  this  deadly  evil.” 
However,  he  found  no  difficulty  in  hiring  men,  and  of  the 
best  kind.  And  when  his  neighbours  saw,  that  by  giving 
one  dollar  a month  more  than  others,  he  could  hire  as 
many  men  as  he  pleased,  they  gave  up  that  objection. 
But  they  said,  it  was  bad  policy  ; for  the  men  would  not 
do  so  much  work,  and  he  would  in  the  end  be  a loser. 
But  he  told  them  that,  although  they  might  not  at  first  do 
quite  so  much,  he  presumed  that  they  would  in  the  end 
do  more.  But  if  they  should  not,  only  let  them  do,  said 
he,  what  they  easily  can,  and  I shall  be  satisfied.  My  Ma- 
ker does  not  require  of  me  any  more  than  I can  do  without 
rum,  (for  he  used  no  ardent  spirits  himself,)  and  I shall 
require  no  more  of  them.  His  men  w’ent  to  w'ork.  And 
his  business  prospered  exceedingly.  His  men  were  re- 
markably uniform  in  their  temper  and  deportment ; still 
and  peaceable. 


4 


THE  WELL-CONDUCTED  FARM. 


[176 

He  found  them  every  day  alike,  and  he  could  always 
safely  trust  them.  What  he.  expected  to  have  done,  he 
found  wax  done,  in  good  season  and  in  the  best  manner. 
His  men  never  made  so  few  mistakes,  had  so  few  disputes 
among  themselves ; they  never  injured  and  destroyed  so 
few  tools,  found  so  little  fault  with  their  manner  of  liHng, 
or  were  on  the  whole  so  pleasant  to  one  another,  and  lo 
their  employer.  The  men  appeared,  more  than  ever  be- 
fore, like  brethren  of  the  same  family,  satisfied  with  their 
business,  contented,  and  happy. 

At  the  close  of  the  year,  one  of  them  came  to  ?<Ir.  B , 

and,  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  said,  “ Sir,  I thought  that  you 
u ere  very  hard,  in  keeping  us  from  drinking  rum.  I had 
always  been  accustomed  to  it,  and  I thought  that  I could 
not  do  without  it.  And  for  the  first  three  months,”  said 
he,  “ it  was  hard,  very  hard.  I had  such  a coxing  in  her?, 
(putting  his  hands  up  to  his  side,)  I had  such  a desperate 
caving  in  here,  that  I thought  1 should  die.  But  as  you 
gave  us  good  wages,  and  good  pay,  and  the  rest  resolved 
to  stand  it  without  rum,  I thought  1 would. 

“ And  now,”  said  he,  “ I am  well  and  happy.  I work 
with  ease,  sleep  sweetly,  and  when  I get  up  in  tlie  morn- 
ing, instead  of  having,  as  I used  to,  my  mouth  and  throat 
(to  use  his  own  wmrds)  so  full  of  cobwebs,  as  to  be  con- 
stantly spilling  collon  wool  all  the  time,  my"  mouth  and 
throat  are  clear  as  a whistle.  1 feel  active,  have  a good 
appetite,  and  can  eat  any  thing. 

“ Formerly,  when  I ^s’orked  hard,  I was  at  night  tired, 
and  could  not  sleep.  .When  I got  up  in  the  morning  I was 
so  sore  and  stiff,  so  filled  up  in  my  throat,  and  my  a])pe- 
tite  was  so  gone,  that  I could  do  nothing  till  T had  taken 
a glass  of  rum  and  molasses.  I then  stood  it  till  breakhust. 
But  my  breakfast  did  not  relish,  and  what  I took  did  not 
seem  to  nourish  me.  Soon  after  I got  to  work  I was  so 
hollow,  and  so  tired,  that  I felt  desperate  ugly  till  1 1 o’clock. 
Then  I took  a 7iew  vamper.  And  by  the  strength  of  that 
1 got  on  till  dinner.  Then  I must  have  a little  more  to 
give  me  an  appetite.  At  3 o’clock  in  the  afternoon  I must 
have  recourse  (these  were  his  words)  to  the  hair  of  the 
same  dog,  to  keep  up  my  sinking  spirits.  And  thus  I got 
along  till  night.  Then  I must  have  a little  to  sharpen  ap- 
petite for  supper.  And  after  supper  I could  not  sleep,  till 
[ had  taken  another  nightcaj). 


177]  THE  1VELL-C0KDUCTED  FxVRM.  6 

Thus  I continued,”  said  he,  “ year  after  year,  under- 
mining a constitution  which  was  naturally  very  robust; 
and  growing  worse  and  worse,  until  I came  under  your 
wise  and  excellent  regulations.  And  now,”  said  he,  “ I 
am  cured.  I am  cured.  I can  now  do  more  labour  than 
\vheu  I took  spirits,  without  half  the  fatigue,  and  take  no- 
thing stronger  than  pure  cold  water.  If  a man  wmuld 
give  me  the  same  wages  that  you  do,  and  a dollar  a day  in 
audition,  to  return  to  the  practice  of  drinking  rum,  I would 
laugh  at  him.”  All  this  was  the  free,  spontaneous  effusion  of 
his  own  mind,  in  view  of  the  great  change  wrought  in  his 
feelings  by  leaving  off  entirely  the  use  of  ardent  spirits. 

Another  of  the  workmen  came  to  Mr.  B and  said, 

lliat  he  had  found  it  very  hard  to  do  without  rum  at  first ; 
but  he  could  now  freely  say,  that  he  never  enjoyed  so  good 
health,  or  felt  so  well,  as  he  did  then.  He  said  that  in 
coid  weather  in  the  winter,  and  after  chopping  all  day  in 
the  woods,  especially  if  exposed  to  rains,  or  if  his  feet 
were  wet,  he  had  for  a long  time  been  accustomed  to  a very 
bad  rheumatism,  and  at  night  to  a dreadful  headach.  He 
took  spirits  temperately,  and  he  supposed  it  was  necessary, 
to  guard  him  against  these  evils.  Still  he  suffered  them ; 
and  he  found  nothing  that  would  prevent  them.  But  since 
he  had  left  off  entirely  the  use  of  spirits,  he  had  had  no 
rheumatism,  and  been  entirely  free  from  the  headach. 

Another  of  the  workmen  said  that  he  thought  at  first 
that  he  could  do  very  w'ell  without  spirits  three  quarters 
of  the  year;  but  that,  in  haying  and  harvesting,  he  should 
want  a little.  But  he  had  found  that  a dish  of  bread  and 
milk,  or  some  other  nourishing  food,  at  11  o’clock,  answer- 
ed his  purpose  at  all  times  just  as  well  as  grog,  and  he 
thought  a little  better.  And  as  he  was  now  entirely  free 
from  the  habit  of  taking  spirits,  he  W'ould  not  on  any  ac- 
count be  placed  in  a sitiration  where  he  should  be  tempted 
to  renew  it. 

Such  were  the  feelings  of  men  who  had  always  been  ac- 
customed to  the  practice  of  taking  spirits,  till  they  came 

into  Mr.  B ’s  employment,  and  who  afterwards  had 

not  taken  a drop.  They  had  tried  both  sides,  and  had 
found,  by  experience,  that  the  practice  of  taking  ardent 


8 THE  WELL-CONDUCTED  FARM.  ) 17f? 

spirits  is  utterly  useless.  N ay,  that  it  is  positively  hurtful. 
It  was  their  united  testimony,  that  they  enjoyed  better 
health,  were  more  happy,  could  do  more  work,  and  Avith 
less  fatigue,  than  when  they  took  spirits. 

They  said,  to  be  sure,  that  they  found  it  hard  to  do 
without  it  at  first.  And  so  would  a man  aa-Iio  had  been  in 
the  habit  of  taking  laudanum,  or  any  poison,  that  was  not 
fatal,  but  was  stimulating,  and  pleasant  to  the  taste,  how- 
ever destructive  it  might  be  in  the  end  to  his  constitu- 
tion. But  after  they  had  freed  themselves  from  the  habit 
of  taking  spirits,  they  found  no  inconvenience  ; but  w'ere 
in  all  respects  better  than  they  Avere  before.  And  they 
acknoAvledged  that  they  Avere  exceedingly  indebted  to  him, 
Avho,  by  his  Avjse  regulations,  bad  been  the  means  of  im- 
proving their  condition.  The  folloAving  Avere  some  of  the 
advantages  to  them. 

1.  They  had  a better  appetite,  partook  of  their  food 
Avith  a keener  relish,  and  it  Avas  more  nourishing  to  them 
than  before. 

2.  They  possessed  much  greater  vigour  and  actiAuty, 
both  of  body  and  mind. 

3.  They  performed  the  same  labour  AA'ith  much  greater 
ease ; and  Avere  in  a great  measure  free  from  that  lassitude 
and  fatigue  to  AA'bich  they  were  before  accustomed. 

4.  They  had  greater  A-rages,  and  they  laid  up  a vastly 
greater  poi’tion  of  Avhat  they  had.  Before,  numbers  used 
to  spend  a great  portion  of  their  Avages  in  scenes  of  amuse- 
ment and  dissipation.  Noav  they  have  no  inclination  to 
frequent  .such  scenes.  The  consequence  is,  they  lay  up 
more  money.  They  are,  also,  more  serious  in  their  de- 
portment, spend  more  of  their  leisure  time  in  useful  read- 
ing, much  oflener  peruse  the  Scriptures,  and  attend  public 
Avorship  ; and  they  are  more  attentive  to  all  the  means  of 
grace.  In  a Avord,  they  are  more  likely  to  become  usefid 
and  happy  in  this  life,  and  to  be  prepared  for  a lasting 
blessedness  in  the  life  to  come. 

5.  Their  example  aauU  be  A'astly  more  likely  to  be  use- 
ful to  those  around  them  ; and  that  for  both  AA  orlds. 

The  folloAving  are  some  of  the  adA'antages  to  theii  ein- 
ployor. 

1,  The  men,  he  says,  in  the  course  of  the  year,  do  mure 


THE  WELL-CONDUCTED  FARM. 


7 


179] 

work,  in  a better  manner,  and  at  a much  less  expense  of 
tools. 

2.  He  can  now  with  much  greater  ease  have  a place 
for  every  thing,  and  every  thing  in  its  place. 

3.  When  a stone  has  fallen  from  the  wall  it  is  now  laid 
up,  as  the  men  are  passing  by,  without  his  mentioning  it. 
The  gates  are  locked,  and  the  bars  put  up ; so  that  the 
cattle  do  not,  as  before,  get  in  and  destroy  the  crops. 

4.  His  summer  work  is  done  in  such  season,  that  earth, 
loam,  &c.  is  carted  into  the  yard  in  the  fall,  instead  of  be- 
ing carted  in  in  the  spring,  as  before.  The  consequence 
is  when  carried  out,  it  is  richer,  and  renders  the  farm 
more  productive. 

5.  His  barns,  in  winter,  are  kept  clean,  and  less  fodder 
is  wasted.  The  cattle  and  horses  are  daily  curried,  and 
appear  in  better  order. 

6.  When  his  men  go  into  the  forests,  instead,  as  before, 
of  cutting  down  the  nearest,  thriftiest,  and  largest  trees, 
they  cut  those  that  are  decayed,  crooked,  and  not  likely 
to  grow  any  better — pick  up  those  that  are  blown  down, 
and  thus  leave  the  forests  in  a better  state. 

7.  The  men  are  more  uniform,  still,  and  peaceable ; are 
less  trouble  in  the  house,  and  more  contented  Avith  tbeii 
manner  of  living. 

8.  At  morning  and  evening  prayer,  they  are  much  more 
ready  than  before  to  attend,  and  in  season ; appearing  to 
esteem  it  not  only  a duty,  but  a privilege  and  a pleasure 
to  be  present,  and  unite  with  the  family  in  the  daily  wor- 
ship of  God. 

9.  On  the  Sabbath,  instead  of  wishing,  as  before,  to  stay 
at  home,  or  to  spend  the  day  in  roving  about  the  fields, 
rivers,  and  forests,  they  choose  statedly  and  punctually  to 
attend  public  worship.  In  a word,  their  whole  deport- 
ment, both  at  home  and  abroad,  is  improved,  and  to  a great- 
er extent  than  any,  without  witnessing  it,  can  well  imagine. 

All  these  and  many  more  advantages  resulted  from 
their  abstaining  entirely,  and  at  all  times,  from  the  use  of 
ardent  spirits. 

Ncff  were  the  benefits  confined  to  them  and  their  em- 
ployer. Some  of  his  neighbours,  witnessing  the  complete 
success  of  his  system,  have  themselves  adopted  it.  When 


8 


THE  WELL-CONDUCTED  FARM. 


[ISO 


Mr.  B went  into  that  part  of  the  country,  many  of 

the  farmers  in  his  neighbourhood  were  in  debt.  Their 
farms  were  mortgaged,  some  for  $ 300,  some  for  $ 500, 
and  some  for  $ 1000,  or  more.  They  complained  much 
of  hard  times,  especially  for  farmers. 

Mr.  B told  them  that  so  long  as  they  continued  to 

drink  rum,  they  must  expect  hard  times ; for  it  Avas  no 
profit,  but  a great  expense,  and  in  more  ways  than  they 
imagined.  They  came  to  him  to  borroAv  money  to  save 
their  farms  from  attachment.  But  he  told  them,  no.  It 
will  do  men  who  continue  to  drink  rum  no  good  to  have 
money.  Nay,  it  will  be  to  them  an  evdl.  The  sooner 
their  property  is  gone,  and  they  have  nothing  with  which 
to  buy  rum,  the  better.  For  then  they  AA'ill  do  less  mis- 
chief than  if  they  have  money,  and  continue  to  drink  rum. 
But,  said  he,  if  you  Avill  leave  off  the  use  of  spirits,  and 
not  take  a drop  for  three  months,  I will  lend  you  money, 
and  you  may  keep  it,  by  paying  the  interest,  as  long  as  you 
continue  to  take  no  ardent  spirits.  But  Avhen  I learn  that 
you  begin  to  take  it,  I shall  call  for  the  money.  Some 

went  away  in  disgust.  Others  said,  as  Mr.  B can  do 

without  rum,  why  cannot  we  i and  if  we  can,  it  aatU  be  a 
great  saving  of  expense.  They  made  the  experiment,  and 
found  that  they  could,  without  the  least  inconvenience,  do 
without  it.  After  a few  months,  they  made  known  to  Mr. 

B the  result ; and  he  helped  them  to  as  much  money 

as  they  needed.  They  continued  to  do  without  spirits,  and 
they  had  none  used  hy  men  in  their  employment.  Their 
business  began  to  prosper,  and  their  prospects  to  brighten. 
Their  debts  are  now  paid,  and  their  farms  free  from  all 
incumbrance.  The  times  with  them  have  altered,  and 
they  are  now  thriving,  respectable,  and  useful  members 
of  the  community. 

Others,  Avho  a few  years  ago  were  in  no  worse  a con- 
dition than  they,  but  Avho  continued  the  practice  of  drink- 
ing spirits,  have  lost  their  farms ; lost  their  reputation  ; 
lost  their  health,  and  eventually  their  lives ; and  there  is 
reason  to  fear,  their  souls.  By  the  temperate  but  habitual 
use  of  spirits,  they  formed  an  inletnperate  appetite.  This  at 
first  was  occasionally,  and  then  habitually,  indulged;  and 
they  were  ruined  for  both  worlds.  The  evil  may  extend 
to  their  children,  and  children’s  children. 


181]  THE  WELL-CONDUCTED  FARM.  9 

But  those  who  have  entirely  relinquished  the  use  of 
spirits,  until  the  desire  for  it  is  removed,  have  experienced 
a wonderful  transformation  in  their  feelings,  their  conduct, 
and  their  prospects.  And  the  change  is  visible  not  only  in 
them,  but  their  families,  and  all  their  concerns.  Their 
windows  are  not  broken  out  as  before ; nor  their  gates 
and  garden-fences  falling  down.  The  kitchen  does  not 
smoke  as  it  used  to,  because  they  keep  it  more  clean,  have 
drier  and  better  wood,  and  lay  it  on  the  lire  in  a better 
manner.  The  wife  does  not  scold  as  she  used  to,  because 
she  is  well  provided  for,  is  treated  kindly,  and  has  the  ut- 
most encouragement  to  labour.  The  children  are  not  now 
in  rags,  but  are  comfortably  and  decently  clad ; they  are 
obedient,  respectful,  and  mannerly ; and  appear  to  be 
growing  up  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord. 
In  short,  they  appear  almost  like  a new  race  of  beings. 
And  if  they  should  never  again  adopt  the  practice  of  tak- 
ing ardent  spirits,  there  is  vastly  more  reason  than  be- 
fore, to  hope  that  they  will  be  led  by  the  word  and  Spirit 
of  God  to  such  a course  of  conduct  as  will  greatly  increase 
their  happiness  and  usefulness  on  earth,  and  be  the  means 
of  preparing  them,  through  grace,  for  the  everlasting  jo)S3 
of  heaven. 

Should  each  individual  in  our  country  adopt  the  same 
course,  the  following  are  some  of  the  advantages  which 
would  result  from  it. 

1.  They  would  enjoy  better  health,  be  able  to  perform 
more  labour,  and  would  live  to  a greater  age. 

2.  The  evils  of  intemperance  would  soon  be  done  away : 
for  all  who  are  now  intemperate,  and  continue  so,  will 
soon  be  dead,  and  no  others  will  be  found  to  succeed  them. 

3.  There  will  be  a saving  every  year  of  more  than 
thirti)  millions  of  dollars,  which  are  now  expended  for  ar- 
dent spirits.  There  will  be  a saving  of  more  than  two-» 
thirds  of  all  the  expense  of  supporting  the  poor,  which, 
in  Massachusetts  alone,  would  amount  to  more  than 
$ 600,000  annually.  And  there  would  be  a saving  of  all 
that  idleness  and  dissipation  which  intemperance  occa- 
sions, and  of  the  expense  of  more  than  two-thirds  of  all 
the  criminal  prosecutions  in  the  laud.  In  one  of  our  large 
cities,  in  which  there  were  1000  prosecutions  for  crimes, 


10  THE  WELL-CONDUCTED  FARM.  [182 

more  than  800  of  them  were  found  to  have  sprung  from 
the  use  of  ardent  spirits. 

4.  There  would  be  a saving  of  a vast  portion  of  sick- 
ness ; and  of  the  lives  probably  of  30,000  persons  every 
year. 

Let  these  four  considerations  be  added  together,  and 
traced  in  their  various  bearings  and  consequences  upon  the 
temporal  and  eternal  welfare  of  men ; and  then  let  each 
individual  say,  whether,  in  view  of  all  the  evils  connected 
with  the  practice  of  taking  ardent  spirits,  be  can,  in  the 
sight  of  God,  be  justified  in  continuing  the  practice.  That 
it  is  not  necessary,  has  been  fully  proved.  No  one  thinks 
it  to  be  necessary,  except  those  who  use  it.  And  they 
would  not  think  so,  if  they  were  not  in  the  habit  of  using 
it.  Let  any  man  leave  off  entirely  the  use  of  ardent  spirits 
for  only  one  year,  and  he  will  find  by  his  oivn  experience 
that  it  is  not  necessary  or  useful.  The  fathers  of  New- 
England  did  not  use  it,  nor  did  their  children.  They  were 
never,  as  a body,  in  the  practice  of  taking  it.  And  yet 
they  enjoyed  better  health,  attained  to  a larger  stature, 
and,  with  fewer  comforts  of  life,  performed  more  labour, 
endured  more  fatigue,  and  lived,  upon  an  average,  to  a 
greater  age  than  any  generation  of  their  descendants  who 
have  been  in  the  practice  of  taking  spirits.  As  it  was  not 
necessary  for  the  fathers  of  New-England,  it  is  certain 
that  it  is  not  necessary  for  their  descendants,  or  for  any 
portion  of  our  inhabitants.  Hundreds  of  healthy,  active, 
respectable  and  useful  men,  who  now  do  not  use  it,  can 
testify  that  it  is  not  necessary.  And  this  ivill  be  the  tes- 
timony of  every  one  who  rvill  only  relinquish  entirely  the 
use  of  it. 

It  is  by  the  temperate  and  habitual  use  of  ardent  spirits, 
that  intemperate  appetites  are  formed.  And  the  temperate 
use  of  it  cannot  be  continued,  without,  in  many  cases, 
forming  intemperate  appetites ; and  after  they  are  formed, 
multitudes  will  be  destroyed  by  their  gratification. 

Natural  appetites,  such  as  are  implanted  in  our  constitu- 
tion by  the  Author  of  nature,  do  not  by  their  gratification 
increase  in  their  demands.  What  satisfied  them  years  ago, 
will  satisfy  them  now.  But  artificial  appetites,  which  are 
formed  by  the  wicked  practices  of  men,  are  constantly  in- 
creasing in  their  demands.  Wkat  satisfied  them  once,  will 


183]  THE  WELL-CONDUCTED  FARM.  11 

not  satisfy  them  now.  And  what  satisfies  them  now,  will 
not  satisfy  them  in  future.  They  are  constantly  crying, 
**  Give,  give.'”  And  there  is  not  a man,  who  is  in  the  ha- 
bitual use  of  ardent  spirits,  who  is  not  in  danger  of  dying 
a drunkard.  Before  he  is  aware,  an  intemperate  appetite 
may  be  formed,  the  gratification  of  which  may  prove  his 
temporal  and  eternal  ruin.  And  if  the  practice  should  not 
come  to  this  result  with  regard  to  himself,  it  may  with 
regard  to  his  children,  and  children’s  children.  It  may 
with  regard  to  his  neighbours,  and  their  children.  It  may 
extend  its  baleful  influences  far  and  wide ; and  transmit 
them,  \^'ith  all  their  innumerable  evils,  from  generation  to 
generation. 

Can,  then,  teinp crate  sober  7nen  be  clear  from  guilt,  in  con- 
tinuing a practice  which  is  costing  annually  more  than 
$ 30,000,000  ; increasing  more  than  three-fold  the  poor 
rates,  and  the  crimes  of  the  country ; undermining  the 
health  and  constitution  of  its  inhabitants ; and  cutting  off 
annually  30,000  lives ! 

There  is  tremendous  guilt  somewhere.  And  it  is  a truth 
which  ought  to  press  with  over^vhelming  force  upon  the 
mind  of  every  sober  man,  that  a portion  of  this  guilt  rests 
upon  every  one  who,  -with  a knowdedge  of  facts,  continues 
the  totally  unnecessary  and  awfully  pernicious  practice  of 
taking  ardent  spirits.  Each  individual  ought,  without  de- 
lay, in  view  of  eternity,  to  clear  himself,  and  neither  by 
precept  nor  example,  ever  again  encourage  or  even  con- 
nive at  this  deadly  evil. 


I knew  a man  by  the  name  of  D , who  was  a very 

skilful,  robust,  and  prosperous  blacksmith,  and  a man  of 
more  than  ordinary  intelligence.  He  yielded  to  the  temp- 
tation to  which  his  trade  exposed  him,  till  he  became  ha- 
bitually intemperate,  and  actually  a nuisance  to  the  neigh- 
bourhood. The  inn-keeper,  who  was  also  a store-keeper, 
on  whom  he  depended  for  his  daily  supplies  of  strong 
drink,  amounting,  it  is  believed,  to  little  less  than  a barrel 
and  a half  annually,  at  length  hired  him  to  abstain  for 
one  year,  by  giving  him  his  note  of  hand  of  ten  dollars. 
He  immediately  became  a calm  and  peaceable  man.  His 
health,  and  appetite,  and  business  returned  to  him.  And 
he  would  tell  you,  that  the  inn-keeper  had  done  him  the 
4 


12  THE  WELL-CONDUCTED  FARM.  [184 

greatest  kindness  he  had  ever  received.  “ I was  undone,” 
said  he.  “ Now  I enjoy  myself  and  my  family,  and  the 
best  farm  in  the  town  would  not  tempt  me  to  return  to 
the  use  of  ardent  spirits.” — The  poor  man  kept  his  resolu- 
tion till  the  end  of  the  eleventh  month,  which  it  seems  he 
had  mistaken  for  the  end  of  the  year,  and  then  ventured 
to  indulge  a little ; and,  alas  ! when  1 saw  him  last,  he  was 
dragging  his  legs  along,  supported  by  two  of  his  com- 
panions, who  I feared  were  pursuing  the  same  miserable 
course  to  destruction,  and  seemed  to  be  lending  him  their 
sympathy ; and  he  was  one  of  the  most  loathsome  and  de- 
graded human  beings  my  eyes  ever  beheld.  I should  not 
he  surprised  to  know  that  he  is  now  with  the  dead.  May 
my  latter  end  not  be  like  his. 

A respectable  merchant  in  P , having  long  observed 

that  a farmer,  with  whom  he  often  traded,  was  in  the  habit 
of  using  ardent  spirits  to  great  excess,  offered  one  day  to 
give  him  fifty  dollars,  if  he  would  drink  no  more  for  ten 
years ; except  so  much  as  his  physician  should  think  ne- 
cessary for  his  health.  The  farmer  agreed  to  the  proposi- 
tion, and  the  bargain  was  confirmed  in  writing.  It  was 
not  long  before  he  felt  unwell,  applied  to  his  physician, 
and  bitters  were  prescribed.  He  had  scarcely  begun  to 
use  them,  when  he  found  that  his  appetite  for  ardent  spi- 
rits was  returning  with  almost  irresistible  violence.  He 
foresaw  the  evil  that  would  probably  ensue,  threw  away 
his  bitters,  and  dashed  his  bottle  to  pieces.  He  drunk  no 
iqore  ardent  spirits  till  the  ten  years  had  expired,  when  he 
called  on  the  merchant,  and  informed  him  that  the  condi- 
tions of  the  obligation  had  been,  on  his  part,  fulfilled. 

Of  course,  then,”  said  the  merchant,  “ you  want  your 
money.”  “ No,”  he  replied,  “ I cannot  take  it.  I have 
sav’ed  far  more  than  my  fifty'  dollars  in  my  bills  at  your 
store,  and  I have  made  ten  times  that  sum  by  attention  to 
my  business.”  The  merchant  has  long  since  gone  to  his 
rest.  The  farmer  still  lives,  has  a large  estate,  and  a fine 
family  around  him,  and  is  a respectable  and  worthy  citi- 
zen ; for,  till  this  day,  he  drnks  no  ardent  spirts. 


^O.  221 


ADDRESS 

ON  THE 

EFFECTS  or  ARDEZVT  SFZRITS, 

ORCGINALLY  DELIVERED  BEFORE  A LARGE  PUBLIC 
MEETING  IN  LYME,  N.  HAMPSHIRE. 


BY  JONATHAN  KITTREDGE,  ESQ 


“ If  we  examine  into  the  state  of  the  families  of  the  intemperate,  we 
shall  discover  a scene  of  misery  and  wretchedness.” — Page  2. 


Fellow-Citizens — That  intemperance,  in  our  coun- 
try, is  a great  and  growing  evil,  all  are  ready  to  admit. 
When  we  look  abroad,  and  examine  into  the  state  of  so- 
ciety, tve  find  the  number  of  those  who  are  in  the  constant 
and  habitual  practice  of  an  excessive  use  of  ardent  spi- 
rits to  be  alarming.  We  see  the  effects  that  they  produce 
among  our  friends  and  our  neighbors,  but  the  evil  is  so  com- 
mon, and  it  is  so  fashionable  to  drink,  and  I had  almost 
said,  to  drink  to  excess,  that  the  sight  of  it  has  lost  half 
its  terror,  and  we  look  upon  an  intemperate  man  without 
those  feeliiiffs  of  disgust  and  abhorrence  which  his  real 
VoL.  T.'"  N 


2 


EFFECTS  OF 


[2S6 

situation  and  character  are  calculated  to  produce  This 
is  the  natural  result  of  things.  The  mind  becomes  fami- 
liar with  the  contemplation,  the  eye  accustomed  to  the 
sight ; we  pay  but  little  attention  to  the  object — he  passes 
or — we  laugh  at  the  exhibition,  and  grow  callous  and  in- 
ditlerent  to  the  guilt.  Our  pity  is  not  excited,  our  hearts 
do  not  ache,  at  the  scenes  of  intoxication  that  are  almost 
daily  exhibited  around  us.  But,  if  for  a moment  we  se- 
riously reflect  upon  the  real  situation  of  the  habitually 
intemperate  ; if  we  call  to  mind  what  they  have  been — 
what  they  now  are  ; if  we  cast  our  eye  to  the  future,  and 
realize  %vhat,  in  a few  years,  they  will  be ; if  we  go  fur- 
ther, and  examine  into  the  state  of  their  families,  of  their 
wires  and  their  children,  we  shall  discover  a scene  of 
misery  and  wretchedness  that  will  not  long  suffer  us  to 
remain  cold,  and  indifferent,  and  unfeeling. 

This  examination  we  can  all  make  for  ourselves.  We 
can  all  call  to  mind  the  case  of  some  individual,  whom  we 
have  known  for  years,  perhaps  from  his  infaiFcy,  who  is 
now  a poor,  miserable  drunkard.  In  early  life  his  hopes 
and  prospects  were  as  fair  as  ours.  His  family  was  re- 
spectable, and  he  received  all  those  advantages  which  are 
necessary,  and  which  were  calculated  to  make  him  a use- 
ful and  respectable  member  of  society.  Perhaps  he  was 
our  school-fellow,  and  our  boyhood  may  have  been  passed 
in  his  company.  We  witnessed  the  first  buddings  of  his 
mental  powers,  and  know  that  he  possessed  an  active,  en- 
terprising mind.  He  grew  up  into  life  with  every  pros- 
pect of  usefulness.  He  entered  into  business,  and,  for  a 
while,  did  well.  His  parents  looked  to  him  for  support 
in  old  age,  and  he  was  capable  of  affording  it.  He  accu- 
mulated property,  and,  in  a few  years,  with  ordinary  pru- 
dence and  industry,  would  have  been  independent.  He 
married  and  became  the  head  of  a family,  and  the  father 
of  children,  and  all  was  prosperous  and  happy  around  him. 
Had  he  continued  as  he  began,  he  would  now  have  been 
a comfort  to  his  friends,  and  an  honor  to  the  communiU'. 
But  the  scene  quickly  changed.  He  grew  fond  of  ardent 
spirits.  He  Avas  seen  at  the  store  and  the  tavern.  By 
degrees  he  became  intemperate.  He  neglected  his  busi- 
ness, and  his  affairs  went  to  gradual  decay.  He  is  now  a 
drunkard,  his  property  is  wasted,  his  parents  have  died  of 


ARDENT  SPIRITS. 


SS7] 


broken  hearts,  his  wife  is  pale  and  emaciated  his  chil- 
dren ragged,  and  squalid,  and  ignorant.  He  is  the  tenant 
of  some  little  cabin  that  poverty  has  erected  to  house 
him  from  the  storm  and  the  tempest.  He  is  useless,  and 
worse  than  useless  : he  is  a pest  to  all  around  him.  All 
the  feelings  of  his  nature  are  blunted;  he  has  lost  all 
shame;  he  procures  his  accustomed  supply  of  the  poison 
that  consumes  him,  he  staggers  through  mud  and  through 
filth,  to  his  hut;  he  meets  a weeping  wife  and  starving 
children— die  abuses  them,  he  tumbles  into  his  straw, 
and  he  rolls  and  foams  like  a mad  brute,  till  he  is  able 
to  go  again.  He  calls  for  more  rum — he  repeats  the 
scene  from  time  to  time,  and  from  day  to  day,  till  soon 
his  nature  faints,  and  he  becomes  sober  in  death. 

Let  us  reflect,  that  this  guilty,  wretched  creature,  had 
an  immortal  mind — he  was  like  us,  of  the  same  flesh  and 
blood — he  was  onr  brother,  destined  to  the  same  eter- 
nity, created  by,  and  accountable  to,  the  same  God  ; and 
will,  at  last,  stand  at  the  same  judgment  bar  ; and  who, 
amid  such  refle»ctions,  wili  not  weep  at  his  fate— -whose 
eye  can  remain  dry,  and  whose  heart  unmoved? 

This  is  no  picture  of  the  imagination.  It  is  a common 
and  sober  reality.  It  is  what  we  see  almost  every  day  of 
our  lives  ; and  we  live  in  the  midst  of  such  scenes  and 
such  events.  With  the  addition  or  subtraction  of  a few 
circumstances,  it  is  the  case  of  every  one  of  the  common 
drunkards  around  us.  They  have  not  completed  the 
drama — they  are  alive — but  they  are  going  to  death  with 
rapid  strides,  as  their  predecessors  have  already  gone. 
Another  company  of  immortal  minds  are  coming  on  to 
fill  their  places,  as  they  have  filled  others.  The  number 
is  kept  good,  and  increasing.  Shops,  as  nurseries,  are 
established  in  every  town  and  neighborhood,  and  drunk- 
ards are  raised  up  by  the  score.  They  are  made — they 
are  formed — for  no  man  was  ever  born  a drunkard — and, 
I may  say,  no  man  was  ever  born  with  a taste  for  ardent 
spirits.  They  are  not  the  food  which  nature  has  provided. 
The  infant  may  cry  for  its  mother’s  milk,  and  for  nou- 
rishing food,  but  none  was  ever  heard  to  cry  for  ardent 
spirits.  The  taste  is  created,  and  in  some  instances  may 
be  created  so  young,  that,  perhaps,  many  cannot  remem- 
ber the  time  when  they  were  not  fond  of  them. 


4 


EFFECTS  OF 


[2SS 


And  here  permit  me  to  make  a few  remarks  upon  the 
formation,  or  creation  of  this  taste.  I will  begin  with 
the  infant,  and  I may  say  that  he  is  born  into  rum.  At 
his  birth,  according  to  custom,  a quantity  of  ardent  spi- 
rits is  provided;  they  are  thought  to  be  as  necessary  as 
anything  else.  They  are  considered  as  indispensable  as 
if  the  child  could  not  be  born  without  them.  The  father 
treats  his  friends  and  his  household,  and  the  mother  par- 
takes Avith  the  rest.  Tlie  infant  is  fed  with  them,  as  if  he 
could  not  knoAV  the  good  things  he  is  heir  to  Avithout  a 
taste  of  ardent  spirits.  They  are  kept  on  hand,  and  often 
given  to  him  as  medicine,  especially  Avhere  the  parents 
are  fond  of  them  themseh-es.  By  this  practice,  even  in 
the  cradle,  his  disrelish  for  ardent  spirits  is  done  aAvay. 
He  groAvs  up,  and  during  the  first  months  or  years  of  his 
existence,  his  taste  and  his  appetite  are  for?ned.  As  he 
runs  about,  and  begins  to  take  notice  of  passing  events,  he 
sees  his  father  and  friends  drink  ; he  partakes,  and  groAvs 
fond  of  them.  In  most  families,  ardent  spirits  are  intro- 
duced and  used  on  every  extraordinary  occasion.  With- 
out  mentioning  many,  that  the  knoAvledge  and  experience 
of  every  man  can  supply,  I Avill  instance  only  the  case  of 
visiters.  A gentleman’s  friends  and  acquaintance  call 
on  him.  He  is  glad  to  see  them,  and  fashion  and  custom 
make  it  necessary  for  him  to  invite  them  to  the  sideboard. 
This  is  all  done  in  his  best  style,  in  his  most  easy  and  ati'a- 
ble  manner.  The  best  set  of  drinking-A^essels  are  brought 
forAvard,  and  make  quite  a display.  The  children  of  the 
family  notice  this;  they  are  delighted  Avith  the  sight  and 
the  exhibition ; they  are  pleased  Avith  the  manners,  and 
gratified  Avith  the  conversation,  of  the  visiters  on  the  occa- 
sion. As  soon  as  they  go  abroad,  they  associate  the  idea 
of  drinking  Avith  all  that  is  manly  and  genteel.  They  fall 
into  the  custom,  and  imitate  the  example  that  is  set  them. 
Circumstances  and  situations  expose  one  to  more  temp- 
tations than  the  rest.  Perhaps  his  resolution,  or  his  moral 
principle,  is  not  so  strong;  and  in  this  Avay,  one  out  of 
tAventy-five  of  those  Avho  live  to  thirty  years  of  age,  be- 
comes intemperate.  He  becomes  so,  perhaps  not  from 
any  uncommon  predisposition  to  the  vice,  but  is  at  first 
led  on  by  fashion, and  custom, and  favorable  circumstances, 
till  at  last  he  plunges  headlong  into  the  vortex  of  dissipa- 


289] 


ARDENT  SPIRITS. 


5 


lion  and  ruin.  Our  natural  disrelish  for  ardent  spirits  is 
first  done  away — a relish  for  them  is  then  created.  The}' 
next  become  occasional,  next  habitual  drinks.  The  habit 
gains  strength,  till,  at  last,  the  daily  drinker  is  swept 
away  by  the  first  adverse  gale. 

It  is  on  this  principle,  and  let  the  fact  operate  as  a cau- 
tion to  those  who  need  it,  that  many  men  of  fair  unble- 
mished characters,  who  have  made  a temperate,  but 
habitual  use  of  ardent  spirits  in  days  of  prosperity,  have, 
on  a change  of  fortune,  become  notorious  drunkards ; 
wdiile  those  who  have  refrained  in  prosperity,  have  en- 
countered all  the  storms  of  adversity  unhurt.  We  fre- 
quently hear  a man’s  intemperance  attributed  to  a parti- 
cular cause,  as  loss  of  friends,  loss  of  property,  disap- 
pointed love,  or  ambition ; when,  if  the  truth  were  known, 
it  would  be  seen  that  such  men  had  previously  been 
addicted  to  the  use  of  ardent  spirits,  perhaps  not  immo- 
derately, and  fly  to  them  on  such  events  as  their  solace 
and  support.  Intemperance  requires  an  apprenticeship, 
as  much  as  law  or  physic;  and  a man  can  no  more  be- 
come intemperate  in  a month,  than  he  can  become  a 
lawyer  or  a physician  in  a month.  Many  wonder  that 
certain  intemperate  men,  of  fine  talents,  noble  hearts, 
and  manly  feelings,  do  not  reform;  but  it  is  a greater 
wonder  that  any  ever  do.  The  evil  genius  of  intempe- 
rance gradually  preys  upon  the  strength  of  both  body 
and  mind,  till  the  victim,  when  he  is  caught,  finds,  that, 
although  he  was  a giant  once,  he  is  now  a child.  Its  in- 
fluence is  seductive  and  insinuating,  and  men  are  often 
irretrievably  lost  before  they  are  aware  of  it.  Let  them 
beware  how  they  take  the  first  step.  It  is  by  degrees 
that  men  become  intemperate.  No  man  ever  became  so 
all  at  once— it  is  an  impossibility  in  the  nature  of  things. 
It  requires  time  to  harden  the  heart,  to  do  away  shame, 
to  blunt  the  moral  principle,  to  deaden  the  intellectual 
faculties,  and  temper  tlie  body.  The  intemperance  of 
tlie  day  is  the  natural  and  legitimate  consequence  of  the 
customs  of  society — of  genteel  and  respectable  society. 
It  is  the  common  and  ordinary  use  of  ardent  spirits,  as 
practised  in  our  towns  and  villages,  that  has  already  peo- 
pled them  with  drunkards,  and  which,  unless  checked, 
will  fill  them  with  drunkards.  The  degree  of  intempe- 
rance that  prevails,  and  the  quantity  of  ardent  spirits 


6 


EFFECTS  OF 


[203 


used,  in  our  most  respectable  towns,  is  almost  incredible 
Perhaps  some  facts  on  this  subject  will  be  interesting. 

As  it  regards  the  degree  of  intemperance  that  prevails, 
it  may  be  safely  said,  that  one  out  of  a hundred  of  the 
inhabitants  of  this  part  of  the  country  is  a common 
drunkard.  By  a common  drunkard,  is  meant  one  who  is 
habitually  intemperate,  who  is  often  intoxicated,  and 
who  is  restrained  from  intoxication  neither  by  principle 
nor  shame.  Of  such  there  are  from  ten  to  twenty,  and 
upward,  in  every  inhabited  township.  There  is  another 
class  which  is  intemperate,  and  many  of  them  are  occa- 
sional drunkards.  This  class  is  more  numerous  than  the 
former,  and  one  out  of  about  forty  of  the  inhabitants  be- 
longs to  one  or  the  other  class.  Is  not  this  a horrid  state 
of  society  ? But  any  one  can  satisfy  himself  of  the  truth 
of  the  statement,  by  making  the  examination  himself. 

The  quantity  of  ardent  spirits  yearly  consumed  in  our 
towns,  varies  from  six  to  ten  thousand  gallons.  It  will 
answer  the  argument  I intend  to  draw  from  it,  to  state 
the  annual  quantity  in  this  town  to  be  six  thousand  gal- 
lons, although  short  of  the  truth.  This  would  be  three 
gallons  to  every  inhabitant,  or  twentr'-one  gallons  to 
every  legal  voter.  The  cost  of  this  liquid,  at  t ^ iJw 
price  of  fifty  cents  per  gallon,  will  be  three  thousand 
dollars,  which  will  pay  all  your  town,  county,  and  state 
taxes  three  years,  and  is  as  much  as  it  costs  you  to  sup- 
port and  maintain  all  your  privileges,  civil,  religious,  and 
literary.  In  one  hundred  years  you  would  drink  up  all 
the  town  in  ardent  spirits ; or  it  would  cost  just  such  a 
town  as  this,  with  all  your  farms,  stock,  and  personal 
property,  to  furnish  the  inhabitants  with  ardent  spirits, 
at  the  present  rate  of  drinking,  only  one  hundred  years. 
But  should  the  town  continue  to  drink  as  thej-  now  do 
for  fifty  years,  and  in  the  mean  time  suffer  the  cost  of 
the  spirits  to  accumulate  by  simple  interest  only,  the 
whole  town,  at  the  end  of  the  term,  could  not  pay  their 
rum  bills.  It  can  be  no  consolation  that  all  other  towns 
would  be  alike  insolvent. 

But  this  is  not  all.  Add  to  this  sum  the  loss  of  time 
and  the  waste  of  property  occasioned  by  it,  independent 
of  its  cost,  and  it  swells  the  amount  to  a monstrous  size. 
Here  you  have  an  account  of  the  cost  of  ardent  spirits, 
calculated  within  bounds.  At  present  there  is  a great 


291] 


ARDENT  SPIRITS. 


7 


complaint  about  the  pressure  of  the  times,  and  the  com- 
plaint is  doubtless  well  founded.  Hard  times  is  in  every 
body’s  mouth ; but  if  you  had  for  the  last  year  only  ab- 
stained from  the  use  of  ai-dent  spirits,  you  would  now 
have  been  independent  and  easy  in  your  circumstances. 
Three  thousand  dollars,  Avhich  you  have  paid  for  them, 
divided  among  you,  would  pay  all  the  debts  you  are 
called  upon  to  pay.  I do  not  mean  that  no  one  wants 
more  than  his  proportion  of  this  sum,  but  there  are  some 
who  want  none  of  it,  and  who  would  circulate  it,  by  loan 
or  otherwise,  among  those  who  do  want  it,  and  it  would 
relieve  the  whole  town  from  the  distress  they  are  now  in. 

If  this  town  had  an  income  that  would  pay  all  its  taxes, 
you  would  consider  it  a matter  of  great  joy  and  congra- 
tulation. But  if  it  had  an  income  that  vrould  discharge 
all  its  taxes,  and  each  man,  instead  of  paying,  should  re- 
ceive the  amount  he  now  pays,  you  would  consider  your 
situation  highly  prosperous  and  enviable.  Discontinue 
the  use  of  ardent  spirits,  and  you  have  it.  Use  none  ; 
and  your  situation,  as  a towuj  will  be  as  good,  yea,  far 
better,  than  if  you  had  an  income  of  three  thousand  dol- 
larH^arl)’,  to  be  divided  among  its  inhabitants. 

carry  this  calculation  farther,  we  shall  find,  on 
tlre^rinciple  adopted,  that  there  are  in  the  state  of  New- 
Hampshire  2441  common  drunkards,  and  3663  intempe- 
rate, or  occasional  drunkards — in  the  whole,  6104  ; and 
that  the  state  consumes  732,483  gallons  of  ardent  spirits 
annually,  which  cost,  at  50  cents  a gallon,  $ 366,241. 
In  the  United  States,  there  would  be  96,379  common, 
and  240,949  common  and  occasional  drunkards ; and 
the  country  would  consume  annually  28,913,887  gal- 
lons of  ardent  spirits,  which  cost,  at  50  cents  per  gallon, 
$14,456,943 — as  much  as  it  costs  to  support  the  whole 
system  of  our  national  government,  rvith  all  that  is  laid 
out  in  improvements,  roads,  canals,  pensions,  (fee.  &c. 
and  is  more  than  one-half  of  the  whole  revenue  of  the 
Union  for  the  last  year.  It  must  be  remembered  that 
this  calculation  embraces  only  the  quantity  and  cost  of 
the  spirits,  and  is  on  the  supposition  that  this  town  con- 
sumes only  6000  gallons,  at  50  cents  per  gallon,  and  is 
a fair  criterion  for  the  state  and  nation.  As  it  regards 
this  state,  it  would  be  safe  nearly  to  double  the  quantity, 


EFFECTS  OF 


[293 


S 

and  to  treble  the  cost  of  the  spirits  ; and  as  it  regards 
the  nation,  it  would  be  safe  to  double  all  my  calculations, 
in  the  United  States,  the  quantity  of  ardent  spirits  yearly 
consumed,  may  be  fairly  estimated  at  60,000,000  gal- 
lons, the  cost  at  30,000,000  dollars,  and  the  number  of 
drunkards,  of  both  kinds,  at  480,000. 

But  we  all  knovr,  and  it  is  common  to  remark,  that  the 
cost  of  the  article  is  comparatively  nothing ; that  it  hardly 
makes  an  item  in  the  calculation  of  pernicious  conse- 
quences resulting  from,  the  consumption  of  ardent  spirits. 
Were  we  to  embrace  the  usual  concomitants,  and  es- 
timate the  value  of  time  lost,  the  amount  of  property 
wasted,  of  disease  produced,  and  of  crime  committed, 
where  ardent  spirits  are  the  only  cause,  it  would  transcend 
our  conceptions,  and  the  imagination  would  be  lost  in 
the  contemplation.  The  number  of  drunkards  in  the 
United  Slates  wmuld  make  an  army  as  large  as  that  with 
which  Bonaparte  marched  into  Russia ; and  would  be 
suflicient  to  defend  the  United  States  from  the  combined 
force  of  all  Europe.  Convert  our  drunkards  into  good 
soldiers,  and  one-tenth  of  them  would  redeem  Greece 
from  the  Turks.  Convert  them  into  Apostles,  and  they 
would  Christianize  the  v/orld.  And  what  are  they  ncSr? 
Strike  them  from  existence,  and  who  would  feel  the  loss  ? 
Yes,  strike  them  from  existence,  and  the  United  States 
would  be  benefited  by  the  blow. 

But  this  is  not  half.  I cannot  tell  you  half  the  effects 
of  ardent  spirits.  And  yet  ardent  spirits  are  said  to  be 
useful  and  necessary.  It  is  false  ! It  is  nothing  but  the 
apology  that  love  of  them  renders  for  their  use.  There 
are  only  two  cases  in  which.  Dr.  Rush  says,  they  can  be 
administered  without  injury,  and  those  are  cases  of  per- 
sons like  to  perish,  and  where  substitutes  may  be  applied 
of  equal  effect.  What  rational  man  rvould  use  them,  for  the 
sake  of  these  two  possible  cases  ? As  well  might  he  intro- 
duce rattlesnakes  among  his  children,  because  their  oil  is 
good  in  diseases  with  which  they  may  possibly  be  afilicted. 

The  number  of  persons  in  the  United  States  who  are 
mentally  deranged,  I do  not  know ; probably  there  are 
several  thousands  ; and  it  is  ascertained,  that  one-third  of 
those  confined  in  the  insane  hospitals  of  Philadelphia  and 
New-York,  are  rendered  insane  by  the  use  of  ardent  spi- 


ARDENT  SPIRITS. 


9 


293] 


rits.  Yes,  one  third  of  the  poor,  miserable  maniacs  of  our 
land,  are  made  such  by  the  use  of  that  which,  in  the  opi- 
nion of  some,  is  a I'ery  useful  and  necessary  article,  and 
which  they  cannot  do  without.  This  article  has  deprived 
one  third  of  the  crazy  wretches  of  our  land  of  their  rea- 
son— of  that  which  makes  them  men — of  the  very  image 
of  their  God. 

Out  of  the  number  of  the  intemperate  in  the  United 
States,  ten  thousand  die  annually  from  the  effects  of  ar- 
dent spirits.  And  what  a death ! To  live  a drunkard  is 
enough;  but  to  die  so,  and  to  be  ushered  into  the  pre- 
sence of  your  angry  Judge,  only  to  hear  the  sentence, 
“ Depart,  thou  drunkard  !”  Ah  ! language  fails,  and  I 
leave  it  to  your  imagination  to  fill  up  the  horrid  picture. 

This  death  happens  in  various  ways.  Some  are  killed 
instantly ; some  die  a lingering,  gradual  death ; some  com- 
mit suicide  in  fits  of  intoxication,  and  some  are  actually 
burnt  up.  I read  of  an  intemperate  man,  a few  years 
since,  whose  breath  caught  fire  by  coming  in  contact  with 
a lighted  candle,  and  he  was  consumed.  At  the  time,  I 
disbelieved  the  story,  but  my  reading  has  since  furnished 
me  with  well  authenticated  cases  of  a combustion  of  the 
human  body  from  the  use  of  ardent  spirits.  Trotter  men- 
tions ten  such  cases,  and  relates  them  at  length.  They 
are  attended  with  all  the  proof  we  require  to  believe  any 
event.  They  are  attested  by  living  witnesses,  examined 
by  learned  men,  and  published  in  the  journals  of  the  day 
without  contradiction.  It  would  be  unnecessary  to  relate 
the  whole,  but  I will  state  one  of  them,  and  from  this  an 
idea  can  be  formed  of  the  rest.  It  is  the  case  “ of  a wo- 
man eighty  years  of  age,  exceedingly  meagre,  who  had 
drunk  nothing  but  ardent  spirits  for  several  years.  She 
was  sitting  in  her  elbow-chair,  while  her  ivaiting-maid 
went  out  of  the  room  for  a few  moments.  On  her  return, 
seeing  her  mistress  on  fire,  she  immediately  gave  an 
alarm ; and  some  people  coming  to  her  assistance,  one  of 
them  endeavored  to  extinguish  the  flames  with  his  hands, 
hut  they  adhered  to  them  as  if  they  had  been  dipped  in 
brandy  or  oil  on  fire.  Water  was  brought  and  thrown  on 
the  body  in  abundance,  yet  the  fire  appeared  more  vio- 
lent, and  was  not  extinguished  till  the  whole  body  had 
been  consumed.  The  lady  was  in  the  same  place  in  which 
she  sat  every  day,  there  was  no  extraordinary  fire,  and 
Vol.  7 N3 


10 


EFFECTS  OF 


[294 


she  had  not  fallen.”*  This,  with  nine  other  cases,  related 
by  the  same  author,  was  a consumption  of  the  body  pro- 
duced by  the  use  of  ardent  spirits.  The  horror  of  a 
drunkard’s  death  beggars  description.  Need  I point  to 
yonder  grave,  just  closed  over  the  remains  of  one  who 
went  from  the  cup  of  excess  to  almost  instant  death? 
You  all  know  it. 

But  this  is  not  all.  One  half  the  poor  you  support  by 
taxes  and  individual  charity,  are  made  poor  by  the  use  of 
ardent  spirits.  This  has  been  demonstrated  by  actual  in- 
quiry and  examination.  In  the  city  of  New-York,  where 
there  are  more  poor,  and  where  more  is  done  for  them 
than  in  any  other  city  of  the  United  States,  a committee 
appointed  for  the  purpose,  ascertained  by  facts,  that  more 
than  one  half  of  the  city  poor  were  reduced  to  poverty 
by  intemperance.  This  is  also  the  case  throughout  the 
Union.  And  here  permit  me  to  state  a case,  with  which 
I am  acquainted.  I do  it  with  a double  object.  I do  it 
to  show  that  the  use  of  ardent  spirits  produces  poverty 
and  distress,  and  the  disuse  of  them  restores  to  wealth 
and  comfort. 

A gentleman  in  the  city  of  New-York,  who  carried  on 
ship-building  on  an  extensive  scale,  and  emplo)-ed  a great 
number  of  hands  daily,  and  paid  them  all  in  the  same 
manner,  and  nearly  to  the  same  amount,  was  struck  with 
the  difference  in  their  situations.  A few,  and  only  a few 
were  able  from  their  wages  to  support  their  families : but 
these  were  out  of  debt,  and  independent  in  their  circum- 
stances. They  always  had  money  on  hand,  and  frequent- 
ly suffered  their  wages  to  lie  in  the  hands  of  their  em- 
ployer. The  rest  were  poor  and  harassed,  the  former 
easy  and  comfortable  in  their  circumstances,  and  he  re- 
solved, if  possible,  to  ascertain  the  cause  of  the  difference. 
On  inquiry  and  examination,  he  found  that  those  of  them 
who  were  above  board  used  no  ardent  spirits,  Avhile  the 
others  were  in  the  constant  and  daily  use  of  them.  He 
satisfied  himself  that  this  use  of  ardent  spirits  was  the 
only  cause  of  the  difference  in  their  condition.  He  de- 
termined, if  he  could,  to  prevail  upon  them  all  to  abstain 
altogether  from  their  use.  On  a thorough  and  parental 
representation  of  the  case  to  them,  he  succeeded,  and 


Trotter  on  Drunkenness,  pp.  78,  79. 


ARDENT  SPIRITS. 


11 


295] 

they  all  agreed  to  make  use  of  none  for  a year.  At  the 
end  of  the  year  they  were  all,  to  a man,  out  of  debt,  had 
supported  their  families  in  better  condition,  had  done 
more  work,  destroyed  fewer  tools,  and  were  hearty  and 
robust,  and  enjoyed  better  health.  This  fact  speaks  vo- 
lumes, and  needs  no  comment.  Adopt  the  same  practice 
ill  this  town,  and  the  result  will  be  the  same.  “ What ! 
drink  none?”  Yes,  I say,  drink  none — one  gallon  for 
this  town,  is  just  four  quarts  too  much.  In  addition  to 
the  miseries  of  debt  and  poverty  which  they  entail  upon 
a community,  they  are  the  parent  of  one  half  the  dis- 
eases that  prevail,  and  one  half  the, crimes  that  are  com- 
mitted. It  is  ardent  spirits  that  fill  our  poor-houses  and 
our  jails  ; it  is  ardent  spirits  that  fill  our  penitentiaries, 
our  mad-houses,  and  our  state  prisons  ; and  it  is  ardent 
spirits  that  furnish  victims  for  the  gallows.  They  are 
the  greatest  curse  that  God  ever  inflicted  on  the  world, 
and  may  well  be  called  the  seven  vials  of  his  wrath. 
They  are  more  destructive  in  their  consequences  than 
war,  plague,  pestilence,  or  famine;  yea,  than  all  com- 
bined. They  are  slow  in  their  march,  but  sure  in  their 
grasp.  They  seize  not  only  the  natural,  but  the  moral 
man.  They  consign  the  body  to  the  tomb,  and  the  soul 
to  hell. 

While  on  earth,  the  victim  of  intemperance  is  as  stupid 
as  an  ass,  as  ferocious  as  a tiger,  as  savage  as  a bear,  as 
poisonous  as  the  asp,  as  filthy  as  the  swine,  as  fetid  as  a 
goat,  and  as  malignant  as  a fiend.  No  matter  what  may 
be  the  original  materials  of  the  man ; his  figure  may  pos- 
sess every  grace  of  the  sculptor ; his  mind  may  be  imbued 
with  every  art  and  science;  he  may  be  fit  to  command  at 
the  head  of  armies,  to  sway  a Roman  senate,  to  wield  the 
destinies  of  nations ; his  heart  may  be  the  seat  of  every 
virtue — but  ardent  spirits  will  strip  him  of  the  whole, 
and  convert  him  into  a demon.  Need  I tell  how?  Need 
I point  out  the  change  that  ebriety  produces  in  the  moral 
and  social  affections  ? Need  I present  the  sword  red  with 
a brother’s  blood?  It  was  in  a drunken  revel  that  the  in- 
furiate Alexander  slew  his  best  friend,  and  most  beloved 
companion,  Clytus.  And  it  was  in  a drunken  revel  that 
he  proclaimed  himself  a god,  and  died. 

“ But  have  not  ardent  spirits  one  good  quality,  one  re- 
deeming virtue  ?”  None.  I sav,  none.  There  is  nothing, 
4*  " 


12 


EFFECTS  OF 


[296 


not  even  the  shadoAV  of  a virtue,  to  rescue  them  from 
universal  and  everlasting  execration.  “ But  they  are 
good  as  a medicine.”  No,  not  as  a medicine.  There  is 
no  physician,  that  does  not  love  them,  that  needs  them 
in  his  practice.  There  is  no  disease  that  they  cure  or 
relieve,  that  cannot  be  cured  or  relieved  without  them. . 
They  add  to  no  man’s  health ; they  save  no  man’s  life.* 
It  is  impossible  to  name  a single  good  thing  that  they 
do.  Give  them  to  the  divine  : do  they  add  to  his  piety, 
to  his  zeal,  to  his  faithfulness,  to  his  love  of  God  or  man? 
No,  they  destroy  them  all.  Give  them  to  the  physician : 
do  they  increase  his  gkill,  his  power  to  discriminate  amid 
the  symptoms  of  disease,  his  judgment  to  apply  the  ap- 
propriate remedies,  his  kind  and  affectionate  solicitude  ? 
Nay,  verily  they  destroy  them  all.  Give  them  to  the 
legal  advocate  : do  they  increase  his  knowledge,  his  per- 
ception to  discover  the  points  of  his  case,  his  readiness 
to  apply  the  evidence,  his  ability  to  persuade  a court  and 
jury?  No,  they  destroy  them  all.  Give  them  to  the  me- 
chanic : do  they  assist  his  ingenuity,  his  judgment,  or  his 
taste?  No,  they  destroy  them  all.  Give  them  to  the 
laborer  : do  they  add  to  his  strength  ? Do  they  enable 
him  to  bear  fatigue,  to  endure  heat  and  cold  ? Can  he  do 
more  work,  or  do  it  better?  No,  they  are  the  ruin  of 
the  whole.  They  reduce  his  strength,  weaken  his  frame, 
make  him  more  susceptible  to  heat  and  cold,  disorganize 
his  whole  system,  and  unfit  him  for  labor. 

“ But  there  are  some  men,”  say  you,  ‘‘  who  use  ardent 
spirits,  and  who  get  along  very  well.”  Admitted.  They 
endure  it.  So  there  are  some  men  who  get  along  very- 
well  with  poor  health  and  feeble  constitutions.  Are  poor 
health  and  feeble  constitutions,  therefore,  no  evils?  Is 

* The  writer  is  aware  that  spirits  or  alcohol  arc  necessary-  in  some 
preparations  of  the  chymist  and  apothecary-.  But  it  is  the  use  of  them 
as  drinks  which  he  is  combating,  and  which,  he  is  assured  by  respect- 
able physicians,  are  not  only  unnecessary,  but  hurtful  in  sickness  and 
in  health.  Were  they  to  exist  only  in  the  apothecary's  shop  in  the 
state  of  alcohol,  it  would  be  all  that  the  woi'ld  needs  of  them.  Some 
physicians,  nevertheless,  may  think  them  usefitl  in  two  or  three  cases 
or  conditions  of  the  body;  but  it  is  apprehended,  that  if  they  should 
discontinue  the  use  of  them  altogether,  except  in  certain  tinctures, &c. 
they  would  be  as  successful  as  they  now  are.  They  are  often  used 
where  they  would  not  be,  if  they  w-ere  not  the  most  common  thing 
that  could  be  found 


297] 


ARDENT  SPIRITS. 


13 


the  prosperity  of  sucli  to  be  attributed  to  them  ? As  much 
as  is  that  of  the  former  to  the  use  of  ardent  spirits.  Was 
ever  a man  made  rich  by  the  use  of  ardent  spirits  ? Never, 
but  millions  have  been  made  beggars  by  it. 

Yet  some  say  they/eeZ  better  by  drinking  ardent  spirits. 
Let  us  examine  this  excuse.  It  is  nothing  but  an  excuse, 
and  he  who  loves  rum  and  is  ashamed  to  own  it,  says  he 
feels  better  to  drink  it.  Let  us  inquire  how.  Are  they 
conducive  to  health  1 On  this  subject  let  the  physician 
decide.  One,  as  great  as  this  country  has  produced.  Dr. 
Rush,  says  that  the  habitual  use  of  ardent  spirits  usually 
produces  the  following  diseases  : A loss  of  appetite;  sick- 
ness at  the  stomach ; obstruction  of  the  liver ; jaundice 
and  dropsy ; hoarseness  and  a husky  cough,  which  often 
ends  in  consumption  ; diabetes  ; redness  and  eruptions  of 
the  skin;  a fetid  breath;  frequent  and  disgusting  belch- 
ings  ; epilepsy  ; gout,  and  madness.  This  is  the  train  of 
diseases  produced  by  the  use  of  ardent  spirits,  and  the 
usual,  natural,  and  legitimate  consequences  of  their  use. 
And  now,  I ask,  can  that  which,  of  its  own  nature,  pro- 
duces these  diseases,  make  a man  feel  better?  Reason 
might  answer  ; and  were  she  on  her  throne,  uninfluenced 
and  unbiassed  by  the  love  of  ardent  spirits,  she  would 
unequivocally  answer.  No.  And  we  find  that  those  who 
say  they  feel  better  to  drink  ardent  spirits,  are  those  who 
are  in  health,  but  love  rum,  and  it  gratifies  their  appetite, 
and  this  is  what  they  mean  by  feeling  better. 

I will  examine  for  a moment  the  effect,  the  immediate 
effect  of  ardent  spirits  upon  the  man.  I will  take  a man 
in  health,  and  give  him  a glass  of  ardent  spirits.  The 
effect  is  to  produce  mental  derangement,  and  false  no- 
tions and  conceptions.  But  one  glass  will  not  have  much 
effect.  I will  give  him  another,  and  if  he  loves  rum  he 
feels  better ; another,  and  he  feels  better ; another,  bet- 
ter yet.  By  this  time  he  has  got  to  feel  pretty  well, 
quite  happy.  He  has  no  fear  or  shame.  He  can  curse, 
and  swear,  and  break  things.  “ He  is  fit  for  treason, 
stratagems,  and  spoils.”  He  fears  no  consequences, 
and  can  accomplish  impossibilities.  If  he  is  a cripple, 
he  fancies  he  can  dance  like  a satyr;  if  he  is  slow  and 
unwieldy,  he  can  run  like  a hart;  if  he  is  weak  and 
feeble  in  strength,  he  can  lift  like  Samson,  and  fight 
like  Hercules ; if  he  is  poor  and  pennyless,  he  is  rich  as 


14 


EFFECTS  OF 


[298 


CriEsus  on  his  throne,  and  has  money  to  lend.  This  is 
all  a correct  representation.  It  is  what  happens  unirer- 
sally  with  the  drunkard.  I know  one  man  who  is  in- 
temperate, Acho  is  poor,  and  never  known  to  have  five 
dollars  at  a time,  who.  Avhen  he  is  intoxicated,  has  often, 
and  does  usually  oiler  to  lend  me  a thousand  dollars. 
Poor,  miserable,  and  deluded  man  ! But  he  feels  well ; 
he  is  one  of  those  who  feel  better  to  drink.  He  is  men- 
tally deranged  ; his  imagination  is  disordered.  He  fancies 
bliss,  and  felicity,  and  plenty,  and  abundance,  AA'hich  do 
not  exist ; and  he  awakes  to  misery,  and  poverty,  and 
shame,  and  contempt.  Yet  this  is  the  exact  feeling  of 
all  those  who  feel  better  to  drink  spirits.  He  Avho  drinks 
but  a glass,  has  not  the  same  degree,  but  precisely  the 
same  kind  of  feeling  Avith  the  one  I liaA^e  described. 

And  this  is  all — this  is  all  that  rum  does  to  make  a man 
feel  better.  If  his  Avife  and  children  are  starving,  he  feels 
it  not.  He  feels  better.  If  his  affairs  are  going  to  ruin, 
or  are  already  plunged  into  ruin,  he  is  not  sensible  to  his 
condition.  If  his  house  is  on  fire,  he  sings  the  maniac’s 
song,  and  regards  it  net.  He  feels  better. 

Let  him  AAdio  likes  this  better  feeling,  enjoy  it.  Enjoy 
it,  did  I say?  No.  Reclaim  him,  if  possible.  ConA'ince 
him  that  lie  labors  under  a delusion.  Restore  him  to 
truth,  and  to  reason;  banish  the  cup  from  his  mouth, 
and  change  the  brute  into  the  man. 

And  noAV  need  any  more  be  said  to  persuade  mankind 
to  abandon  the  use  of  ardent  spirits  ? the  appalling  facts, 
in  relation  to  them,  are  knoAvn  to  all.  Experience  and 
observation  teach  us  that  they  are  the  source  of  ruin,  and 
misery,  and  squalid  Avretchedness,  in  a thousand  shapes. 
They  are  the  three-headed  monster;  they  are  the  Gor- 
dons Avith  their  thousand  snakes ; their  name  is  Legion. 
And  shall  I A'et  find  advocates  for  their  use?  "Will  this 
enlightened  community  yet  say  they  are  useful  and 
necessary?  All  those  Avho  have  used  them,  and  disconti- 
nued the  use  of  them,  say  they  are  totally  unnecessary 
and  useless.  We  see  that  those  aa'Iio  live  Avithout  them 
enjoy  more  happiness  and  better  health  than  those  Avho 
use  them — that  they  live  longer  lives.  But,  oh  the  folly, 
the  stupidity  and  the  delusion  of  rum-drinkers ! 

But  perhaps  it  may  be  said,  that  the  effects  and  con- 
sequences that  I have  mentioned,  result  from  the  abuse, 


ARDENT  SPIRITS. 


299] 


and  not  from  the  proper  and  moderate  use  of  ardent 
spirits  ; and  that  on  many  occasions,  in  small  quantities, 
they  are  useful.  Let  us  examine  the  circumstances  and 
occasions  when  they  are  said  to  be  necessary,  and  per- 
haps I cannot  do  it  better  than  in  the  words  of  another. 

“ They  are  said  to  be  necessary  in  very  cold  weather. 
This  is  far  from  being  true  ; for  the  temporary  heat  they 
produce  is  always  succeeded  by  a greater  disposition  in 
the  body  to  be  affected  by  cold.  Warm  dresses,  a plenti- 
ful meal  just  before  exposure  to  the  cold,  and  eating  oc- 
casionally a cracker  or  any  other  food,  is  a much  more 
durable  method  of  preserving  the  heat  of  the  body  in  cold 
weather.”  In  confirmation  of  this,  the  case  of  the  vessel 
wrecked  off  the  harbor  of  Newburyport,  a few  years 
since,  may  be  adduced.  On  an  intensely  cold  night, 
when  all  the  men  of  that  vessel  were  in  danger  of  freez- 
ing to  death,  the  master  advised  them  to  drink  no  ardent 
spirits.  He  told  them,  if  they  did,  they  must  surely 
freeze.  Some  took  his  advice,  while  others,  notwithstand- 
ing his  most  earnest  entreaties,  disregarded  it.  The  re- 
sult was,  that  of  those  w^ho  used  the  spirits,  some  lost 
their  hands,  some  their  feet,  and  some  perished ; while 
the  rest  survived  unhurt. 

“ They  are  said  to  be  necessary  in  very  warm  weather. 
Experience  proves  that  they  increase,  instead  of  lessen- 
ing the  effects  of  heat  upon  the  body,  and  thereby  expose 
it  to  diseases  of  all  kinds.  E'T  en  in  the  warm  climate  of  the 
West-Indies,  Dr.  Bell  asserts  this  to  be  true,  lium,  says 
this  author,  whether  used  habitually,  moderately,  or  in 
excessive  quantities,  always  diminishes  the  strength  of 
the  body,  and  renders  man  more  susceptible  to  disease, 
and  unfit  for  any  service  in  which  vigor  or  activity  is  re- 
quired. As  well  might  we  throw  oil  into  a house,  the 
roof  of  which  was  on  fire,  in  order  to  prevent  the  flames 
from  extending  to  its  inside,  as  pour  ardent  spirits  into 
the  stomach,  to  lessen  the  effects  of  a hot  sun  upon  the 
skin.”  And  here  permit  me  to  add,  that  they  are  said  to 
be  necessary  in  cold  weather  to  warm,  and  in  warm 
weather  to  cool.  The  bare  statement  of  the  argument 
on  these  two  points  confounds  itself. 

“ Nor  do  ardent  spirits  lessen  the  effects  of  hard  labor 
upon  the  body.  Look  at  the  horse,  with  every  muscle 


16 


EFFECTS  OF 


[300 


of  his  body  swelled  from  morning  till  night,  in  a plough 
or  a team.  Does  he  make  signs  for  a glass  of  spirits, 
to  enable  him  to  cleave  the  ground  or  climb  a hill?  Ao, 
he  requires  nothing  but  cold  water  and  substantial  food. 
There  is  no  nourishment  in  ardent  spirits.  The  strength 
they  produce  in  labor  is  of  a transient  nature,  and  is  al- 
ways followed  by  a sense  of  Aveakness  and  fatigue.”* 

Some  people,  nevertheless,  pretend  that  ardent  spirits 
add  to  their  strength,  and  increase  their  muscular  poAvers ; 
but  this  is  all  a delusion.  They  think  they  are  strong 
Avhen  they  are  Aveak.  Rum  makes  them  boast,  and  that 
is  all.  The  truth  is,  it  Aveakens  them  in  body,  but 
strengthens  them  in  imagination.  Why  Avas  Samson  for- 
bidden by  the  Angel  of  God  to  drink  either  Avine  or 
strong  drink,  but  to  increase  and  preserve  his  strength  ? 
When  you  hear  a man  telling  Iioav  strong  rum  makes 
him,  you  may  be  sure  he  is  Aveak  both  in  body  and  mind. 

There  is  one  other  occasion  for  using  ardent  spirits, 
Avhich  it  Avill  be  proper  to  examine.  They  are  said  to 
be  necessary  to  keep  off  the  contagion  of  disease,  and 
are  recommended  to  attendants  upon  the  sick.  But  the 
united  testimony  of  all  physicians  proves,  that  the  in- 
temperate are  first  attacked  by  epidemic  disorders.  This 
is  universally  the  case  in  the  southern  states,  and  in  the 
West-Indies.  Experience  also  proves  that  those  attend- 
ants upon  the  sick,  Avho  refrain  from  the  use  of  ardent 
spirits,  escape,  Avhile  those  aa^Iio  use  them  are  sAvept 
aAvay.  If  facts  could  convince,  the  use  of  ardent  spirits 
Avould  be  abolished.  But  the  love  of  rum  is  stronger 
on  the  human  mind  than  the  truth  of  Heaven. 

If,  then,  ardent  spirits  are  not  necessary  in  sickness; 
if  they  do  not  prevent  the  effects  of  heat  and  cold ; if  thev 
do  not  add  to  our  strength,  and  enable  us  to  perform 
more  labor ; Avhen  are  they  necessary  ? Why,  people  in 
health  say,  they  Avant  to  drink  them  noAV  and  then — they 
do  them  good.  What  good  ? If  they  are  Avelh  Avhv  do 
they  need  them?  For  nothing  but  to  gratify  the  taste, 
and  to  produce  a feeling  of  intoxication  and  derangement, 
slight  in  its  degree  AA'hen  moderately  used,  as  they  are 
by  such  people,  but  the  character  of  the  feeling  is  no  less 
certain.  It  is  the  same  feeling  that  induces  the  drunkard 


Dr.  Rush. 


301] 


ARDENT  SPIRITS. 


17 


to  drink.  One  man  takes  a glass  to  do  him  g.ood,  to  make 
him  feel  better ; another  wants  two  ; another  three  ; 
another  six ; and  by  this  time  he  is  intoxicated,  and  he 
never  feels  well  till  he  is  so.  He  has  the  same  feeling 
with  the  man  who  drinks  a single  glass,  but  more  of  it; 
and  that  man  who,  in  health,  drinks  one  glass  to  make 
him  feel  better,  is  just  so  much  of  a drunkard  ; one-sixth, 
if  it  takes  six  glasses  to  intoxicate  him.  He  has  one- 
sixth  of  the  materials  of  a drunkard  in  his  constitution. 

But  it  is  this  moderate  use  of  ardent  spirits  that  pro- 
duces all  the  excess.  It  is  this  which  paves  the  way  to 
downright  and  brutal  intoxication.  Abolish  the  ordinary 
and  temperate  use  of  ardent  spirits,  and  there  would  not 
be  a drunkard  in  the  country.  He  who  advises  men  not 
to  drink  to  excess,  may  lop  ofi’  the  branches  : he  who 
advises  them  to  drink  only  on  certain  occasions,  may  fell 
the  trunk  ; but  he  who  tells  them  not  to  drink  at  all, 
strikes  and  digs  deep  for  the  root  of  the  hideous  vice  of 
intemperance  ; and  this  is  the  only  course  to  pursue.  It 
is  this  temperate  use  of  ardent  spirits  that  must  be  dis- 
continued. They  must  be  no  longer  necessary  when 
friends  call,  when  we  go  to  the  store  to  trade,  to  the 
tavern  to  transact  business,  when  we  travel  the  road  on 
public  days — in  fact,  they  must  cease  to  be  fashionable 
and  customary  drinks.  Do  away  the  fashion  and  custom 
that  attend  their  use,  and  change  the  tone  of  public  feel- 
ing, so  that  it  Avill  be  thought  disgraceful  to  use  them  as 
they  are  now  used  by  the  most  temperate  and  respecta- 
ble men,  and  an  end  is  for  ever  put  to  the  prevalence  of 
the  beastly  disease  of  intoxication.  Let  those  who  can- 
not be  reclaimed  from  intemperance,  go  to  ruin,  and  the 
quicker  the  better,  if  you  regard  only  the  public  good  ; 
but  save  the  rest  of  our  population ; save  yourselves  ; 
save  your  children  ! Raise  not  up  an  army  of  drunkards 
to  supply  their  places  ! Purify  your  houses  ! They  con- 
tain the  plague  of  death ; the  poison  that  in  a few  years 
will  render  some  of  your  little  ones  what  the  miserable 
wretches  that  you  see  staggering  the  streets  are  now. 
And  who,  I ask,  would  not  do  it  ? What  father,  who 
knew  that  one  of  his  sons,  that  he  loves,  was  in  a few 
years  to  be  what  hundreds  you  can  name  are  now,  would 
hesitate,  that  he  might  save  him,  to  banish  rum  from  his 
premises  for  ever? 


18 


EFFECTS  OF 


[302 


But  if  all  will  do  it,  he  is  saved ; and  he  who  contri- 
butes but  a mite  in  this  work  of  God,  deserves  the 
everlasting  gratitude  of  the  republic.  If  the  names  of  a 
Brainerd,  of  a Swartz,  of  a Buchanan,  have  been  ren- 
dered immortal  by  their  eflbrts  to  convert  the  heathen  to 
Christianity  ; the  names  of  those  men  who  shall  succeed 
in  converting  Christians  to  temperance  and  sobriety, 
should  be  written  in  letters  of  ever-during  gold,  and  ap- 
pended by  angels  in  the  temple  of  the  living  God.  The 
sum  of  their  benevolence  w.ould  be  exceeded  only  by 
His,  who  came  down  from  heaven  for  man’s  redemption. 
Then  banish  it : this  is  the  only  way  to  save  your  chil- 
dren. As  long  as  you  keep  ardent  spirits  in  your  houses, 
as  long  as  you  drink  it  yourselves,  as  long  as  it  is  polite 
and  genteel  to  sip  the  intoxicating  bowl,  so  long  society 
will  remain  just  what  it  is  now,  and  so  long  drunkards 
will  spring  from  your  loins,  and  so  long  drunkards  will 
wear  your  names  to  future  generations.  And  there  is  no 
other  way  given  under  heaven,  whereby  man  can  be 
saved  from  the  vice  of  intemperance,  but  that  of  total 
abstinence. 

And,  if  ardent  spirits  are  the  parent  of  all  the  povertv. 
and  diseases,  and  crime,  and  madness,  that  I have  named, 
and  if  they  produce  no  good,  what  rational  man  will  use 
them  ? If  he  loves  himself,  he  will  not ; if  he  loves  his 
children,  he  will  not : and  as  Hamilcar  brought  Hanni- 
bal to  the  altar,  at  eight  years  of  age,  and  made  him  swear 
eternal  hatred  to  the  Romans,  so  er  ery  parent  should 
bring  his  children  to  the  altar,  and  make  them  swear,  if 
I may  so  speak,  eternal  hatred  to  ardent  spirits.  He 
should  teach  them  by  precept  and  example.  He  should 
instil  into  his  children  a hatred  of  ardent  spirits,  as  much 
as  he  does  of  falsehood  and  of  theft.  He  should  no 
more  suffer  his  children  to  drink  a little,  than  he  does  to 
lie  a little,  and  to  steal  a little. 

And  what  other  security  have  you  for  your  children  ? 
or  for  yourselves  ? Yes,  for  yourselves.  I knew  a man 
who,  a few  years  ago,  was  as  temperate  as  any  of  you, 
was  as  respectable  as  any  of  you,  as  learned  as  any  of 
you,  and  as  useful  in  life  as  any  of  you ; I have  heard 
him  from  the  sacred  desk  again  and  again^  but  by  the 
same  use  of  ardent  spirits  that  most  men  justify  and  ad* 


AKDEXT  SPIRITS. 


19 


303] 

vorate,  under  the  mistaken  notion  that  they  were  benefi- 
cial to  him,  he  has  at  last  fallen  the  victim  of  intempe- 
rance. And  this  is  not  a solitary  example.  I had  almost 
said  it  is  a common  example.  I could  easily  acM  to  the 
number. 

And  now  what  security  have  you  for  yourselves  ? You 
have  none  but  in  the  course  I have  recommended.  If  it 
is  necessary  for  the  intemperate  man  to  write  on  every 
vessel  containing  ardent  spirits,  “ Taste  not,  touch  not, 
handle  not,”  and  to  brand  them  as  full  of  the  very  wrath 
of  God,  it  is  also  necessary  for  the  temperate  man  to  do 
so,  to  save  himself  from  intemperance. 

But  the  difficulty  on  this  subject  is  to  convince  men  of 
their  individual  danger  ; that  intemperance  stands  at  their 
own  doors,  and  is  knocking  for  an  entrance  into  their 
own  houses  ; that  they  and  their  children  are  the  victims 
that  he  seeks. 

But  if  the  places  of  the  present  generation  of  drunk- 
ards are  to  be  supplied,' whence  will  the  victims  come 
but  from  your  own  children  ? And  who  knows  but  that 
the  infant  the  mother  is  now  dandling  upon  her  knee,  and 
pressing  to  her  bosom,  however  lovely  he  may  appear, 
however  respectable  and  elevated  she  is,  will  be  selected 
to  be  one  of  that  degraded,  and  squalid,  and  filthy  class 
that,  in  her  old  age,  will : walk  the  streets  as  houseless, 
hopeless,  and  abandoned  drunkards  ? You  have  no  se- 
curity, no  assurance. 

But  we  are  apt  to  think  that  the  wretches  whom  we 
see  and  have  described,  were  always  so  ; that  they  were 
out  of  miserable  and  degraded  families  ; and  that  they 
are  walking  in  the  road  in  which  they  were  born.  But 
this  is  not  so.  Among  the  number  may  be  found  a large 
proportion  who  were  as  lovely  in  their  infancy,  as  pro- 
mising in  their  youth,  and  as  useful  in  early  life  as  your 
own  children,  and  have  become  drunkards — I repeat  it, 
and  never  let  it  be  forgotten — have  become  drunkards  by 
the  temperate,  moderate,  and  habitual  use  of  ardent  spi- 
rits, just  as  you  use  them  now.  "Were  it  not  for  this  use 
of  ardent  spirits,  we  should  not  now  hear  of  drunken 
senators  and  drunken  magistrates ; of  drunken  lawyers 
and  drunken  doctors  ; churches  would  not  now  be  mourn- 
ing over  drunken  ministers  and  drunken  members;  pa- 


20 


EFFECTS  OF  ARDENT  SPIRITS. 


[304 


rents  would  not  be  Aveeping  over  drunken  children  ; 
wives  over  drunken  husbands  ; husbands  over  drunken 
wives,  and  angels  over  a drunken  world. 

Then  cease.  No  longer  use  that  Avdiich  is  the  source 
of  infinite  mischief,  without  one  redeeming  benefit ; 
which  has  entailed  upon  you,  upon  your  children,  and 
upon  society,  woes  unnumbered  and  unutterable.  Banish 
it  from  your  houses  : it  can  be  done.  You  have  only  to 
will,  and  it  is  efl’ected.  Use  it  not  at  home.  Let  it  never 
be  found  to  pollute  your  dwellings.  Give  it  not  to  your 
friends  or  to  your  workmen.  Touch  it  not  yourselves, 
and  sutler  not  your  children  to  touch  it ; and  let  it  be  a 
part  of  your  morning  and  evening  prayer,  that  you  and 
your  children  may  be  saved  from  intemperance,  as  much 
as  from  famine,  from  sickness,  and  from  death. 


Reader,  have  you  perused  this  pamphlet  ? and  are  you 
still  willing  to  drink,  use,  or  sell  this  soul-destroying 
poison?  If  so — if  you  are  willing  to, risk  your  own  soul, 
disgrace  your  friends,  and  ruin  your  children  by  this  fell 
destroyer,  then  go  on ; but  remember,  that  to  the  drunk- 
ard is  allotted  the  “ blackness  of  darkness  and  despair 
for  ever.”  But  if  not — if  j'ou  feel  the  magnitude  of  the 
evil — if  you  are  Avilling  to  do  something  to  correct  it,  sit 
not  down  in  hopeless  silence,  but  arouse  to  action  ; “ re- 
sist the  devil  and  he  will  flee  from  you not  only  banish 
it  from  your  houses,  but  from  your  stores,  your  shops, 
your  farms ; give  it  not  to  your  workmen ; refuse  to 
employ  those  Avho  use  it ; invite,  entreat,  conjure  your 
friends  and  neighbors  to  refrain  wholly  from  the  use  of 
it ; never  forgetting  that  the  day  of  final  account  is  at 
hand;  that  what  we  do  for  Christ,  and  for  the  good  of 
our  fellow-men,  must  be  done  soon ; and  that  those  ivho 
sacrifice  interest  for  the  sake  of  conscience,  and  who  are 
instrumental  in  turning  men  from  their  errors,  shall  not 
lose  their  reward. 


233, 


APPEAL  TO 

A M M 1 C A M , Y O U T II , 

ON 

[A  Premium  Tract. 1 


BY  REV.  AUSTIN  DICKINSON. 


To  remove  a great  national  evil,  the  influence  of  the 
young  is  all-important.  And  the  fact,  that  Intemperance 
is  here  sacrificing  its  thirty  thousand  victims  annually, 
surely  demands  their  special  attention.  They  can,  if  they 
please,  put  an  end  to  this  desolating  scourge  : and  that 
without  any  sacrifice.  Ponder  then,  beloved  youth,  the 
following  reasons  for  abstaining  entirely  from  ardent  spirit. 

1.  The  use  of  it  will  do  you  no  good. — It  will  not  in- 
crease your  property:  no  merchant  would  deem  a relish 
for  it  essential  to  a good  clerk,  or  partner  in  business. 
It  will  not  invigorate  your  body  or  your  mind  ; for  phy- 
sicians tell  us,  it  contains  no  more  nourishment  than  fire 
or  lightning.  It  will  not  increase  the  number  of  your 
respectable  friends : no  one,  in  his  right  mind,  would 
esteem  a brother  or  neighbor  the  more,  or  think  his 
prospects  the  better,  on  account  of  his  occasional  use  of 
intoxicating  liquor.  Nor  will  it  in  the  least  purify  or 
elevate  your  affections,  or  lit  you  for  the  endearments  of 
domestic  life : no  parent,  should  you  ask  for  his  daugh- 
ter, would  require  you  first  to  become  a lover  of  ardent 
spirit ; for,  saith  the  prophet,  wine  and  its  kindred  indul- 
gences ^‘•takc  away  the  heart.'"  Why,  then,  should  a 
rational  being,  capable  of  the  purest  enjoyment,  yield  to 
a custom  in  no  respect  useful,  but  rather  the  occasion  of 
countless  miseries? 

3.  Drinking  ardent  spirit,  if  it  do  no  good,  is  a great 
and  wicked  waste.  The  use  of  only  a single  glass  daily, 
by  the  ten  millions  of  freemen  in  the  United  States,  would, 
in  fifty  years,  at  one  cent  a glass,  amount  to  eighteen 
hundred  millions  of  dollars ; a sum  abundantly  sufficient 
to  supply  with  colleges,  academies,  and  schools,  every 
city  and  district  of  our  country.  And  yet,  according  to 
official  returns  to  government,  the  amount  of  ardent  spirit 


2 


TO  AMERICAN  YOUTH, 


[110 


annually  imported  and  manufactured  in  the  United  States 
would  far  more  than  furnish  a glass  daily  to  each  of  ten 
millions ; and  everybody  knows,  that  the  average  cost 
to  consumers  must  be  more  than  one  cent  a glass. 

And  let  it  be  admitted,  that  all  the  time  now  employed 
in  importing,  manufacturing,  distributing,  and  drinking 
this  liquor,  might  be  devoted  to  other  business  at  least 
equally  productive ; and  here  you  have  another  item  of 
eighteen  hundred  millions  of  dollars ‘wasted:  the  sim- 
ple interest  of  which  (exceeding  one  hundred  millions 
per  annum,)  would  be  suflicient  to  support  the  Christian 
ministry  throughout  the  nation,  to  pay  all  our  public 
taxes,  and  to  carry  on  great  national  improvements. 

Add  to  these  the  enormous  expenses  t)f  sickness,  pau- 
perism, crime,  and  premature  death,  occasioned  in  the 
same  period  by  ardent  spirit,  and  you  have  a third  item 
of  at  least  eighteen  hundred  millions  of  dollars  wasted  ; 
half  of  Avhich  would  purchase  a Bible  for  every  inhabitant 
of  the  globe.  Any  one  who  has  patience  to  calculate  a 
little,  will  see  that  these  estimates  are  far  within  bounds. 
And  will  our  sober  and  intelligent  youth,  when  they  know 
these  facts,  be  instrumental  in  occasioning  such  waste  ? 

3.  Indulgence  in  ardent  spirit  is  offensive  to  the  Giver 
of  all  mercies.  It  is  not  a “ creature  of  God,”  any  more 
than  cards  or  murderous  weapons,  but  of  man’s  inven- 
tion ; and  of  comparatively  recent  invention,  originating, 
like  the  Mahommedan  imposture,  in  “ the  land  of  rob- 
bers.” Had  the  all-wise  Creator  deemed  it  absolutely 
necessary  for  man,  can  it  be  supposed  that  he  would 
have  sufiered  thousands  of  years  to  pass,  ere  the  method 
of  making  it  Avas  known  ? Or  had  he  deemed  the  habi- 
tual use  of  it  good  for  man,  would  he  have  created  him 
with  a disgust  for  it,  which  it  requires  the  insidious  prac- 
tice of  sAveeteninor  and  dilutinor  to  overcome? 

The  spirit  of  the  Bible,  as  Avell  as  uncorrupted  taste,  is 
in  direct  hostility  to  this  intoxicating  poison.  Its  uniform 
language  in  regard  to  all  such  impurities  is.  Touch  not, 
taste  not,  handle  not.  He  Avho  hath  solemnly  said.  Drunk- 
ards shall  not  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God,  cannot  surely 
look  Avith  complacency  even  on  those  Avho  sip  the  pol- 
luting cup,  and  Aidio,  by  their  example,  encourage  others 
to  drink  still  deeper  in  the  pollution.  Common  sense 
as  well  as  piety,  revolts  at  the  thought. 


ON  TEMPERANCE. 


3 


111] 

On  the  other  hand,  strict  temperance  is  pleasing  to  the 
Most  High.  Thus  it  Avas  said  of  him  who  Avas  honored 
to  announce  the  Savior’s  advent,  “ He  shall  be  great  in 
the  sight  of  the  Lord,  and  shall  drink  neither  Avine  nor 
strong  drink.”  In  the  vicAv  of  Omniscience,  then,  true 
greatness  is  associated  Avith  entire  abstinence  from  this 
artificial  stimulus. 

4.  The  use  of  spirituous  liquor  Aas  a perverting  and  de- 
basing influence,  and  leads  to  other  sensual  indulgences, 
as  well  as  to  foul  speeches  and  foolish  contracts.  Men, 
excited  by  this  poison,  Avill  say  and  do  things  Avhich,  in 
other  circumstances,  they  Avould  abhor : they  Avill  slander 
and  reveal  secrets,  and  throAV  aAvay  property,  and  offend 
modesty,  and  profane  sacred  things,  and  indulge  the  vilest 
passions,  and  abuse  the  nearest  relatives,  and  cover 
themselves  and  families  Avith  infamy.  Hence  the  strict 
and  solemn  caution  of  the  Holy  Book,  “ Look  not  thou 
on  the  Avine  Avhen  it  is  red,  Avhen  it  giveth  its  color  in 
the  cup  : at  the  last  it  biteth  like  a serpent,  and  stingetli 
like  an  adder : thine  eyes  shall  behold  strange  Avomen  ; 
ttiid  thine  heart  shall  utter  perverse  things.”  Those 
Avho  by  gaming  or  intrigue  rob  others  of  their  property, 
and  those  Avho  allure  the  “simple”  and  unsuspecting  <o 
the  chamber  of  death  and  hell,  understand  this  deceitful 
tendency  of  ardent  spirit.  Hence  the  exhilarating  glass 
is  presented  as  their  first  enticement.  “ Is  it  not  a little 
oneV'  say  they,  Avith  insidious  smile;  and  so  the  un- 
Avary  are  caused  to  fall  by  little  and  little  ” 

**  She  urged  him  still  to  fdl  another  cup  : 

and  in  the  dark,  still  night, 

When  God’s  unsleeping  eye  alone  can  see, 

He  went  to  her  adulterous  bed.  At  morn 
I looked,  and  saw  him  not  among  the  youths: 

I heard  his  father  mourn,  his  mother  weep ; 

For  none  returned  that  went  with  her.  The  dead 
Were  in  her  house ; her  guests  in  depths  of  hell ; 

She  wove  the  winding-sheet  of  souls,  and  laid 
Them  in  the  urn  of  everlasting  death.” 

Such  is  ever  the  certain  tendency,  if  not  ahvays  the 
fatal  end,  of  the  insidious  CAip;  for,  says  Solomon, “Wine 
is  a mocker,  strong  drink  is  raging,  and  Avhosoever  is 
deceived  thereby,  is  not  wise.”  The  sentiment  is  reite- 
rated by  Isaiah ; “ They  are  out  of  the  Avay  through 
strong  drink ; they  err  in  vision,  they  stumble  in  judg- 
ment.” And  one  infinitely  greater  than  Solomon  oi 
Isaiah,  hath  said  that  drunkards  and  adulterers  shall  go 
to  the  same  place  of  torment. 


4 


TO  A31EIUCAN  YOUTH, 


[112 


5.  Tlie.  habit  of  drinking  once  estahlished,  it  may  he 
extremely  dijicult,  if  not  impossible,  should  you  lire,  to 
break  off  in  more  advanced  life.  Thus,  in  this  day  of  re- 
form, and  in  places  where  the  reformation  is  very  gene- 
ral, there  are  individuals,  even  members  of  churches,  so 
accustomed  to  drink  and  traffic  in  the  poison,  that  all  the 
remonstrances  of  conscience,  the  Availings  of  the  ruined, 
the  authority  of  God,  and  the  odium  of  public  sentiment 
combined,  cannot  now  restrain  them.  In  despite  of  all, 
they  still  drink  on ; and  in  some  instances,  even  those 
sustaining  important  offices  in  the  church,  blush  not,  in 
this  day  of  light,  to  deal  out  for  paltry  gain  this  article  of 
death  and  perdition ! O,  could  an  angel  speak  to  such 
men,  he  would  thunder,  with  Paul,  “ Ye  cannot  drink 
the  cup  of  the  Lord,  and  the  cup  of  devils.'"  But  our 
business  and  hope  are  Avilh  the  young:  Let  the  youth, 
then,  who  notv  turn  with  shame  from  such  examples  of 
inconsistency  and  guilt,  beware  of  contracting  a habit  so 
hardening  to  the  conscience,  so  deadening  to  the  soul. 

6.  It  is  a solemn  consideration,  which  must  have  great 
weight  with  such  as  reverence  the  Bible,  that  even  mode- 
rate drinking  ???«?/ /or  ever  exclude  the  saving  influence.^ 
of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Says  one,  distinguished  by  his  writ- 
ings and  his  extensive  usefulness  -as  a preacher,  “ If, 
while  under  conviction,  a person  allotvs  himself  to  sip  a 
little — he  is  sure  to  grieve  away  the  Spirit  of  God;"  and 
this  testimony,  the  result  of  long  observation,  is  in  per- 
fect accordance  with  reason  and  Scripture.  For,  (to  sny 
notJiing  of  the  deadening  influence  of  ardent  spirit  cn  the 
conscience,)  unless  heaven  and  hell  can  rvork  together, 
God  cannot,  consistently,  send  his  Spirit  to  co-operate 
■with  that  spirit  v.hich  Satan  employs,  more  than  any 
other  agent,  in  fitting  men  for  his  service  and  kingdom; 
for  “what  communion  hath  light  with  darkness?  and 
what  concord  hath  Christ  with  Belial?”  and  how  “can 
two  walk  together  except  they  be  agreed?”  If,  then,  “ye 
know  these  things,”  and  desire  salvation,  O beware  of 
“ sinning  against  the  Holy  Ghost !” 

7.  To  increase  your  disgust  for  ardent  spirit,  think  how 
the  use  of  it  prevails  among  the  most  despised  and  de- 
graded portions  of  the  community.  Inquire  through  the 
city  or  the  village  for  those  who-  are  so  polluted  by  vice 
as  to  be  sliut  out  from  all  decent  society,  so  changed  to 


ON  TEMPERANCE. 


113] 


0 


the  image  of  the  beast,  that  they  cannot  be  looked  upon 
but  with  abhorrence ; learn  their  history,  and  you  inva- 
riably find  that  the  bottle  has  been  their  familiar  compr  - 
nion.  Enter  their  retreats  of  midnight  retmlry,  and  you 
still  find  that  rum  is  the  all-inspiring  divinity  among  them 
— that  this  spirit  from  beneath  seems  needful  to  fit  them 
for  the  work  of  their  master.  And  should  not  the  most 
decided  reprobation  be  stamped  upon  that,  which  is 
always  found  associated  with  the  lowest  state  of  debase- 
ment and  crime  ? 

8.  Be  persuaded  to  strict  temperance  by  the  reflection, 
that  in  the  purest  state  of  morals,  and  in  the  most  intel- 
ligent and  refined  circles,  ardent  spirit  is  not  tolerated. 
Who  would  not  be  shocked  at  the  supposition,  that  this 
liquor  was  carried  about  by  the  twelve  apostles  and  their 
Lord?  or  that  it  was  offered  to  them  at  such  houses  as 
they  found  “ worthy?”  What  assembly  of  divines,  feel- 
ing the  sacredness  of  their  office,  would  now  be  found 
“ mingling  strong  drink?”  What  select  band  of  students, 
hoping  soon  to  officiate  at  the  altar  of  God,  before  the 
bench  of  justice,  or  in  the  chamber  of  affliction,  would 
now  call  for  brandy?  What  circle  of  refined  females 
would  not  feel  themselves  as  much  degraded  by  indulging 
in  rum,  as  by  smoking  or  swearing?  What  Christian 
church  would  not  be  shocked  at  a proposal  for  stimulating 
their  social  meetings  with  this  noxious  spirit?  Or  what 
parent,  inquiring  for  an  eligible  boarding-school,  would 
think  of  asking  whether  his  child  might  there  be  sure  to 
have  the  aid  of  this  stimulus  ? If,  then,  ardent  spirit  cannot 
be  tolerated  in  the  most  moral,  intelligent,  and  refined 
associations,  why  should  it  not  in  like  manner  be  wholly 
discarded  by  individuals  ? Why  should  not  the  young, 
especially,  of  both  sexes,  keep  themselves  unspotted,  and 
worthy  of  a place  in  the  most  pure  and  refined  society  ? 

9.  Be  persuaded  to  strict  temperance,  hy  a consideration 
of  its  happy  influence  on  the  health  and  vigor  of  both 
mind  and  body.  The  most  eminent  physicians  bear  uni- 
form testimony  to  this  propitious  effect  of  entire  absti- 
nence. And  the  Spirit  of  inspiration  has  recorded.  He 
that  striveth  for  the  mastery  is  temperate  in  all  things. 
Many  striking  examples  might  be  adduced.  The  mother 
of  Samson,  that  prodigy  of  human  strength,  was  instruct- 
ed by  an  angel  of  God  to  preserve  him  from  the  slightest 
touch  of  “ wine  or  strong  drink,  or  any  unclean  thing 


B 


TO  AMERICAN  YOUTH, 


[114 


and  Luther,  who  burst  the  chains  of  half  Europe,  was  as 
remarkable  for  temperance  as  for  great  bodily  and  intel  ■ 
lectual  vigor.  “ It  often  happened,”  says  his  biographer, 
“ that  for  several  days  and  nights  he  locked  himself  up 
in  his  study,  and  took  no  other  nourishment  than  bread 
and  water,  that  he  might  the  more  uninterruptedly  pursue 
his  labors.  Sir  Isaac  Newton,  also,  whilst  .composing  his 
Treatise  on  Light,  a work  requiring  the  greatest  clear- 
ness of  intellect,  abstained  not  only  from  spirit,  but  from 
all  stimulating  food.  The  immortal  Edwards,  too,  re- 
peatedly records  his  own  experience  of  the  happy  effect 
of  strict  temperance  both  on  mind  and  body.  And  the 
recent  reformations  from  moderate  drinking,  in  different 
parts  of  the  land,  have  revealed  numerous  examples  of 
renovated  health  and  spirits  in  consequence  of  the  change. 
But  not  to  multiplv  instances,  let  any  youth  oppressed 
with  heaviness  of  brain  or  dulness  of  intellect,  thoroughly 
try  the  experiment  of  tem'perance  in  all  things,  united 
with  great  activity,  and  he  will  himself  be  surprised  at 
the  happy  effect. 

10.  The  habit  of  temperance,  being  closely  allied  to 
other  virtues,  will  secure  for  you  the  respect  and  confi- 
dence of  the  best  part  of  the  community,  and  thus  lead  to 
your  more  extensive  usefulness,  as  well  as  prosperity 
and  happiness.  The  youth  who  comes  up  to  the  resolu- 
tion of  entire  abstinence  for  ever,  and  persuades  others  so 
to  do,  gives  evidence  of  moral  courage — gives  evidence 
that  he  has  the  power  of  self-denial — gives  evidence  of 
an  intellect  and  moral  sense  predominating  over  appetite, 
and  selfishness,  and  the  laugh  of  fools  ; and  such  is  the 
youth  whom  a virtuous  and  intelligent  community  will 
delight  to  honor. 

11.  Let  true  patriotism  and  philanthropy  inspire  you 
with  an  utter  abhorrence  of  this  national  evil.  A thick 
fiery  vapor,  coming  up  from  the  pit,  has  overspread  the 
whole  land,  and  blighted  half  its  glory.  T ens  of  thousands 
of  our  citizens,  poisoned  and  polluted  by  this  vapor,  and 
fitted  only  to  dwell  in  fire,  have  yearly  sunk  down  into 
that  pit,  to  weep  and  lament  for  ever.  Upward  of  four 
hundred  thousand  more,  according  to  calculation,  are  at 
this  moment  groping  their  miserable  way  to  that  same 
pit,  who,  but  for  this  pestilence,  might  have  been  among 
our  happiest  and  most  respected  citizens.  A still  greater 
number  of  near  connexions  are,  in  consequence,  covere  ' 


ON  TEMPERANCE 


7 


115] 

with  shame,  weeping,  and  wo.  Ah  ! wdio  can  .say  he  has 
no  relative  ruined  by  this  plague A short  time  siiice, 
ihe  infection  had  become  almost  universal ; but  God,  in 
great  mercy,  has  inspired  his  servants  to  publish  the  only 
remedy — Abstinence,  total  abstinence  for  ever 
Great  multitudes  have  already  believed,  and  obeyed,  a!ul 
are  now  safe  from  the  plague.  The  remedy  is  sufficient 
for  the  whole  world.  And  instead  of  costing  any  thing, 
its  general  application  in  the  United  States  would  be  an 
annual  saving  of  many  millions  of  dollars.  What  youth, 
then,  what  child,  that  loves  his  country,  that  loves  man- 
kind, will  hot  now  co-operate  with  patriots,  and  states- 
men, and  physicians,  and  divines,  and  the  respected  of 
every  name,  in  apjilying  the  remedy?  Who  does  not 
see  its  certain  efficacy,  and  the  grandeur  of  the  result  ? 
Who  does  not  see  that  drunkards  are  all  formed  by  mo- 
derate drinking?  and  that,  if  the  young  will  abstain,  all 
drunkards  now  living  will  soon  die,  and  the  great  national 
evil  be  exterminated  ? What  youth,  then,  is  so  perverse, 
so  cold  to  his  country’s  glory,  so  devoid  of  philanthropy, 
that  he  will  not  abstain? 

While  Wilberforce  was  lifting  his  voice  for  the  aboli- 
tion of  the  slave-trade,  three  hundred  thousands  in  Great 
Britain  abandoned  the  use  of  sugar ; and  when  our  patriot 
fathers  resisted  foreign  taxation,  hundreds  of  thousands 
in  this  land  renounced  the  use  of  tea.  And  could  thev 
thus  abstain  from  things  agreeable  and  innocent,  because 
they  hated  oppression  ? and  is  there  a patriot  youth  who 
will  not  openly  renounce  that  which  poisons  alike  both 
soul  and  body,  and  inflicts  both  temporal  and  eternal 
bondage  ? 

Were  a foreign  despot  now  landing  great  armies  on 
our  shores,  and  threatening  to  enslave  the  whole  country, 
every  youthful  bosom  would  swell  with  indignation, 
every  sword  be  unsheathed,  and  every  bayonet  pointed. 
And  will  you  not  combine  to  arrest  the  more  cruel  despot, 
Intemperance,  ivho  murders  nearly  all  his  prisoners, 
whose  vessels  are  continually  entering  our  ports,  whose 
magazines  of  death  are  now  planted  in  all  our  villages, 
and  whose  manufactories,  in  the  very  midst  of  us  and 
throughout  the  land,  are  like  “ tlie  worm  that  dieth  not, 
and  the  fire  that  is  not  quenched  ?” 

Were  all  who  have  in  the  compass  of  a year  been  found 
5 


TO  AMERICAN  YOUTH, 


[116 

drunk  in  the  land,  collected  in  one  place,  they  would 
make  a greater  army  than  ever  Bonaparte  commanded. 
And  yet  those  now  on  the  road  to  drunkenness  would 
make  a vastly  greater  army  still.  And  these,  too,  with 
myriads  more  that  Avill  come  on  in  the  same  track,  unless 
some  patriot  band  interpose  and  rally  the  nation,  are 
nearly  all  destined  for  slaughter,  and  for  the  world  of  wo. 

Were  one-half  the  amount  of  liquid  lire  that  is  swal- 
lowed annually  by  that  army  of  drunkards,  collected  in 
one  great  lake,  it  would  be  more  than  large  enough  for 
all  of  them  to  swim  in.  And  yet  a vastly  greater  quantity 
is  swallowed  by  the  more  numerous  and  more  dangerous 
army  of  moderate  drinkers. 

Were  those  thirty  thousand  victims  that  annually  de- 
scend to  the  drunkard’s  grave,  cast  out  at  once  into  aii 
open  field,  they  would  cover  live  acres  of  ground  with 
their  putrefying  carcasses.  And  yet  far  greater  numbers 
are  slain  by  the  insidious  practice  of  moderate  drinking. 

Were  the  thousands  of  distilleries  and  manufactories  ol 
the  poison,  that  are  at  work  day  and  night  in  our  land, 
placed  in  one  county,  they  would  blacken  the  surround- 
ing heavens  with  their  smoke,  and  render  that  blackness 
still  more  terrific  by  the  gleaming  of  their  midnight  fires.* 

Could  all  the  oaths,  obscenities,  and  blasphemaes  which 
ardent  spirit  occasions  every  hour  be  uttered  in  one 
voice,  it  would  be  loud  as  “ seven  thunders.” 

And,  my  young  friends,  are  those  armies  of  drunkards, 
and  that  lake  of  fire,  and  those  carcasses  of  the  slain,  and 
those  ever-burning  manufactories,  and  those  oaths  and 
blasphemies  in  the  ear  of  God,  less  appalling  to  humanity 
— less  stirring  to  patriotism — because  they  appear  every 
where  throughout  the  land?  Shall  there  be  no  general 
burst  of  indignation  against  this  monster  of  despotism, 
and  cruelty,  and  wickedness,  because  he  has  insidiously 
got  possession  of  the  country,  instead  of  coming  in  by 
one  bold  invasion  ? Shall  he  now  with  his  legions  march 
openly  through  the  land,  and  plant  his  engines,  and  forge 
his  chains,  and  insult  the  heavens,  and  strew  the  earth 
wdth  desolation  ? Or  shall  he  not  rather,  by  universal 
consent,  be  arrested,  when  it  can  be  done  without  cost, 
and  with  infinite  gain  ? 

♦ As  early  as  1815,  accordingr  to  the  Hon.  Timothy  Pitkin’s  Stai.'etics,  there  were 
in  the  United  States,  thirly^cight  thousand  Jice  hmdred  and  thirty  distilleries  I 


ON  TEMPERANCE. 


0 


1171 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  here,  that,  in  nearly  all  the 
States,  every  male  drunkard,  of  proper  age,  is  a voter ; 
and  has  equal  power  in  tlie  elective  franchise  with  the 
most  elevated  citizen.  Nor  can  it  be  concealed,  that. thou- 
sands of  votes  are  every  year  purchased  by  this  poison. 
Nor  must  it  be  forgotten,  that  should  intemperance  in- 
crease for  fifty  years  to  come,  in  the  same  ratio  that  it 
did  for  twenty  years  previous  to  eighteen  hundred  and 
twenty-six,  about  one-third  of  our  voters  would  be  drunk- 
ards, and  probably  half  the  remainder  somewhat  intem- 
perate. What  then  would  be  the  character  of  our  beloved 
Republic  ? What  a spectacle  would  she  present  to  sur- 
rounding nations  ! and  how  would  she  appear  in  the 
pure  eye  of  Heaven  ! 

But  should  the  tide  of  intemperance  still  roll  on,  and, 
with  the  population,  increase  in  the  same  ratio  for  eigldy 
years,  a majority  of  our  voters  would  be  drunkards,  and 
our  population  then  amount  to  an  hundred  millions. 
Who  then  could  rally  the  nation,  and  turn  back  the  burn- 
ing tide?  or  who  could  govern  the  maddening  multitudes, 
and  save  our  ship  amid  the  raging  of  such  a sea  of  fiie  ? 

It  is  not  a vain  thing,  then,  that  patriots  and  philaR’ 
thropists  have  waked  up  to  this  subject.  Their  trnmjie'j 
should  thrill  in  thunders  through  the  land ; and  in  tonf,j 
of  redeeming  mercy,  should  urge  all  the  young  to  save 
themselves  and  their  children.  These  can,  if  they  wih, 
cause  the  river  of  abominations  to  be  dried  up,  and  the 
pure  river  of  God  to  flow  in  its  place. 

It  is  obvious,  that  if  this  great  evil  were  wholly  done 
away,  the  Gospel  would  have  far  mightier  sway,  and 
human  nature  generally  would  assume  a much  higher 
character.  Pure  intellectual  and  moral  stimulus  would 
take  the  place  of  that  which  is  low,  sensual,  and  devilish. 
Better  health,  better  temper,  loftier  intellect,  and  more 
expanded  benevolence,  would  everywhere  appear.  Men, 
instead  of  sinking  below  brutality  itself,  would  be  rising 
in  knowledge  and  purity,  and  striving  to  “ be  perfect,  as 
their  Father  in  heaven  is  perfect.” 

It  is  obvious,  likewise,  that  Proiddence  has  great  and 
happy  events  to  be  accomplished  by  the  younger  portions 
of  this  and  our  parent  nation.  Unto  them,  especially, 
are  revealed  those  oracles  which  declare,  “ Instead  of  the 
fathers  shall  be  the  children,  whom  thou  mayest  make 

Vol.8.  ^ F ' 


10 


TO  AMERICAN  YOUTH, 


[IIS 


princes  in  all  the  earth.”  And  already  do  I see,  in  the 
silent  kindling  and  expanding  of  unnumbered  minds,  the 
presage  of  a moral  earthquake,  that  will  prostrate  every 
despotic  throne,  and  “ every  high  thing  that  exaltelh 
itself  against  the  knowledge  of  God.”  Millions,  trained 
in  Sabbath  Schools  and  kindred  institutions,  will  soon  be 
“ sanctified  through  the  truth  ;”  and  then  “ great  will  be 
liie  company  of  those  that  publish  it.”  Sound  in  body 
and  mind,  and  quickened  by  the  Spirit  of  Heaven,  they 
will  be  “mighty,  through  God,  to  the  pulling  down  of 
strong  holds.”  The  best  talent  in  every  department  of 
life  will  then  be  put  in  requisition  for  the  highest  inter- 
ests of  man. 

Who,  then,  of  the  rising  race,  is  so  dull,  so  dead  to 
generous  feeling,  so  deaf  to  the  voice  of  Providence,  so 
blind  to  the  beauty  of  moral  excellence,  that  he  will  not 
now  aspire  to  some  course  of  worthy  action?  And  what 
parent  that  loves  his  child,  will  not  exult  to  see  him  aim- 
ing at  the  highest  usefulness,  honor,  and  blessedness,  of 
■.vhich  he  is  capable  ? Let  this  motto,  then,  be  inscribed 
.(U  every  dwelling : He  that  striveth  tor  the  ma.s- 
TERV  IS  temperate  IN  ALL  THINGS. 

Can  any  father  or  mother  still  encourage  the  vounir  to 
drink  in  the  poison  ? Such  a mother  there  cannot  be. 
And  if  there  be  a father,  whose  “ breath  is  corrupt,” 
and  Avho,  to  keep  himself  in  countenance,  insidiously 
poisons  his  children  also,  God  will  most  assuredlv  curse 
him ; a reformed  community  will  despise  him  : and  his 
own  dear  offspring  may  yet  turn  upon  him,  in  agony, 
and  curse  him  for  ever.  “ Wo  to  that  man  by  whom  the 
offence  cometh.” 

Nor  let  any  parent  rest  satisfied  with  merely  exerting 
no  bad  influence  upon  his  child : he  is  bound  by  the  autho- 
rity of  Heaven  to  exert  directly  a good  influence.  When 
it  is  said  by  the  Most  High,  “ that  Abraham  shall  surely 
become  a great  and  mighty  nation,  and  all  the  nations  of 
the  earth  shall  be  blessed  in  him,”  it  is  immediately  added, 
“For  I know  that  he  will  commaftd  his  children  and  his 
household  after  him,  and  they  shall  keep  the  way  of  the 
Lord.”  And  uhen  again,  by  his  servant  Moses,  God 
recounts  his  great  mercies,  and  portrays  his  coming  ven- 
geance on  the  violators  of  his  law,  in  the  most  glowing 
language  ever  addressed  to  any  nation,  he  solemnly 


ON  TEMPERANCE. 


11 


119] 

adds,  “ Which  ye  shall  command  your  children  to  ob- 
serve, to  do  all  the  words  of  this  law  ; for  it  is  not  a vain 
thing  for  you  ; because  it  is  your  life.” 

Let  every  parent,  then,  vrho  would  redeem  this  nation 
from  intemperance,  and  make  her  great  and  happy,  “ the 
joy  of  the  whole  earth,”  not  only  “ abstain  from  all  ap- 
pearance of  evil,”  but,  like  “ the  father  of  many  nations, 
command  his  children  and  his  household  after  him.'''' 

One  word  in  relation  to  signing  a united  pledge  for  ab- 
stinence. As  it  respects  yourself,  it  will  be  deciding  the 
question  once  for  all,  and  thus  supei'sede  the  necessity  of 
deciding  it  a thousand  times,  when  the  temptation  is  of- 
fered, and  when  you  may  not  be  in  circumstances  so  fa- 
vorable to  a correct  decision.  It  will  moreover  supersede 
the  pain  of  a perpetual  warfare  with  appetite  and  temp- 
tation. And,  as  it  respects  others,  of  feebler  minds  and 
stronger  appetites,  your  explicit  example  and  influence 
may  be  immeasurably  important.  Multitudes  may  thus  be 
secured  to  a life  of  entire  abstinence,  and  some  reclaimed 
from  drunkenness,  who,  but  for  this  pledge,  would  never 
liave  had  the  requisite  courage  and  firmness.  Your  in- 
fluence may  thus  extend  indefinitely,  on  the  right  hand 
and  on  the  left,  and  down  to  future  ages.  And  by  such 
united  efforts,  great  multitudes  which  no  man  can  num- 
ber, will  be  saved  from  a life  of  wretchedness,  a death 
of  infamy,  and  an  eternity  of  blasphemy  and  wo. 

Does  any  youth  now  say,  he  will  unite  in  no  pledge, 
because /le  is  in  no  danger  ? Ah!  you  may  be  in  imminent 
danger,  which  you  do  not  see.  But  suppose  you  are  safe . 
have  you  then  no  henecolcnce  ? Think  how  many  a bo- 
som must  this  very  night  be  wrung  with  agony,  over  a 
drunken  husband,  or  father,  or  brother ! And  have  you 
no  pity?  Is  your  heart  made  of  fro?!.''  Think  how  many 
millions  of  hopes  for  both  worlds  are  suspended  on  the 
issue  of  the  Temperance  Cause.  And  will  you  do  no- 
thing to  aid  its  speedy  triumph? 

Do  you  say,  your  influence  is  of  no  account,  because 
3'ou  are  small,  or  young,  or  poor  ? It  was  one  poor  man 
that  saved  a “little  city,”  when  “a  great  king  besieged 
it.”  Another  poor  man  saved  “a  great  city,”  when  the 
anger  of  Jehovah  was  kindled  against  it.  Small  as  you 
may  think  yourself  to  be,  you  are  accountable  to  God 
and  your  country ; and  your  linger  ma)  touch  some 


12 


TO  AMERICAN  VOUTH,  ON  TEMPERANCE.  [120 

String  that  will  vibrate  throngh  the  nation  ; your  prayer 
may  “ move  the  hand  that  moves  the  rv orld.” 

But  are  you  conscious  of  possessing  some  influence  T 
and  have  you  a tongue  to  speak?  Then  rally  the  circle 
of  your  acquaintance,  and  enlist  them  in  the  sacred  cause. 
And  do  you  gain  a little  by  abstinence  ? Then  give  a 
little  to  extend  the  saving  influence.  What  youth  cannot 
spare  six  cents,  to  procure  as  many  Tracts  ; and  perhaps 
10  reclaim  as  many  families  ? And  who  can  estimate  the 
endless  influence  of  those  families? 

But  do  you  inherit  wealth  ? Then  speak  by  ten  thou- 
sand tongues — send  winged  messengers  through  the  city, 
the  country,  the  town,  the  village,  the  harbor — and  hope 
for  your  reward  in  that  rvorld,  where,  saith  the  Scrip- 
ture, “ neither  thieves,  nor  covetous,  nor  drunkards,  nor 
revilers,  nor  extortioners,  nor  any  thing  that  dejileth,  or 
worketh  abomination,  shall  ever  enter.” 

I cannot  close  without  just  alluding  to  results,  which 
must  quickly  follow,  should  the  reformation  now  in  pro- 
gress be  triumphant  through  the  land.  O,  could  the  men 
who  first  conceived  the  enterprise  of  freeing  this  great 
nation  from  intemperance,  behold  the  object  accomplished, 
as  it  were  in  a day,  they  Avould  then  feel,  and  the  nation 
would  feel,  that  nothing  desirable  is  too  hard  to  be  under- 
taken. They  Avould  at  once  inquire,  what  other  great  evil 
needs  to  be  removed,  and  speak  the  word,  and  with  God’s 
niessing  it  would  he  done.  Reformation  Avould  thus  follow 
reformation,  till  this  whole  land  should  become  “ a moun- 
tain of  holiness,”  blooming  tvith  “ trees  of  righteousness.” 

Meanwhile,  other  portions  of  the  human  family,  seeing 
what  Christian  freemen  can  do,  tvoiild  emulate  our  bright 
example,  and  nation  after  “ nation  be  born  in  a day.” 

Rise,  then,  ye  }‘Oung  hope  of  your  country  and  the 
world ; exhibit  one  general  combination  of  moral  courage, 
intelligence,  and  purity;  and,  with  corresponding  effort, 
say  to  the  whole  earth,  the  hour  o f her  redemption  is  come. 

Happy  ! thrice  happy  ye ! tvho  may  thus  have  the 
honor  of  dashing  atvay  for  ever  the  cup  of  drunkenness, 
and  washing  this  foul  stain  from  our  country’s  glory. 
Happy  the  generation  ! who  may  rise  up  instead  of  the 
fathers,  and,  like  the  rainboAV  above  the  retiring  cloud, 
reflect  from  one  end  of  the  earth  to  the  other,  the  glories 
of  a millennial  sun.  the  end. 


TSO,  239 


AND 

TH^SE. 


The  “ Triple  Lea£‘ue,*'^See  page  8. 


The  art  of  turning  the  products  of  the  earth  into  a fiery 
spirit  was  discovered  by  an  Arab  about  nine  hundred  years 
ago.  The  effects  of  this  abuse  of  nature’s  gifts  were  soon 
viewed  with  alarm.  Efforts  were  made  even  by  a heathen 
people  to  arrest  the  evil.  And  it  shows  the  mighty  agency 
and  cunning  of  Satan,  that  Christian  nations  shotild  ever 
have  been  induced  to  adopt  and  encourage  this  deadliest  of 


2 


\LARM  TO  DISTILLERS 


[178 


man’s  in%'entions.  In  the  guilt  of  encouraging  the  destruc- 
tive art,  our  own  free  country  has  largely  participated. 
In  the  year  1815,  as  appears  from  well  authenticated  sta- 
tistics, our  number  of  distilleries  had  risen  to  nearly  forty 
thousand.  And,  until  within  a very  few  years  past,  the 
pi'ogress  of  intemperance  threatened  all  that  was  fair  and 
glorious  in  our  prospects.  The  reformation  recently  com- 
menced is  one  of  the  grandest  movements  of  our  world  ; 
and  to  secure  its  speedy  triumph,  the  concurrence  of  dis- 
tillers is  obviously  indispensable.  The}'  must  cease  to  pro- 
vide the  destroying  element.  This  they  are  urged  to  do 
by  the  following  considerations. 

1.  The  business  of  distilling  confers  no  benefits  on  your 
fellow-men. 

Ardent  spirit  is  not  needed  as  an  article  of  living.  In  the 
first  ages  of  the  world,  when  human  life  was  protracted  to 
hundreds  of  years,  it  was  unknown.  By  the  first  settlers 
of  this  country  it  was  not  used.  It  was  scarcely  used  for  a 
whole  century.  And  those  temperate  generations  were  re- 
markably robust,  cheerful,  and  enterprising.  To  this  we 
may  add,  that  several  hundred  thousand  persons,  ac- 
customed to  use  it,  have  given  it  up  entirely  within  a few 
years  past ; and  their  united  testimony  is,  that  they  have 
made  no  sacrifice  either  of  health,  or  strength,  or  any  real 
comfort.  Indeed,  few,  if  any,  except  such  as  have  the  in- 
temperate appetite,  will  now  seriously  contend  that  dis- 
tilled liquor  is  necessary  or  useful.  The  little  that  may 
perhaps  be  desirable  as  medicine  might  be  made  by  tlie 
apothecary  or  the  physician. 

The  talents  God  has  given  you  7night  be  applied  to  ad- 
vance the  welfare  of  your  fellow-men.  It  is  your  duty — 
your  highest  honor — thus  to  apply  them.  And  on  the  bed 
of  death,  in  near  prospect  of  the  judgment,  it  will  surely  be 
a melancholy  reflection,  that,  as  regards  tlie  happiness  of 
mankind,  your  life  has  been  an  utter  blank. 

2.  The  business  of  distilling  is  not  only  useless,  but  is 
the  occasion  of  many  and  great  evils. 

Recent  examination  has  developed  a number  of  appalling 
facts,  which  few,  if  any,  pretend  to  question.  It  is  admit- 
ted that  the  use  of  ardent  spirit  has  been  a tax  on  the 
population  of  our  country,  of  from  fifty  to  a hundred  millio7is 
of  dollars  annually.  It  is  admitted  that  tliree-fourths  of  all 


179] 


AND  THEIR  ALLIES. 


3 


the  crimes  of  the  land  result  from  the  use  of  intoxicating 
liquor.  It  is  admitted  that  at  least  three-fourths  of  all  the 
sutferings  of  poverty  arise  from  the  same  source.  It  is  ad- 
mitted that  upt?arcl  of  thirty  thousand  of  our  citizens  have 
annually  descended  to  the  drunkard's  grave.  It  is  adinitted 
(by  those  who  believe  the  Bible)  that  drunkards  shall  not 
inherit  eternal  life,  but  must  have  their  part  in  the  lake  that 
burnetii  with  fire  and  brimstone.  In  a word,  it  is  admitted 
that  health,  fortune,  social  happiness,  intellect,  conscience, 
heaven,  are  all  swept  away  by  the  tide  of  intemperance. 

And  now,  what  you  are  sjiecially  bound  to  ponder  is, 
that  this  burning  tide,  with  all  its  desolations.  Hows  from 
those  very  fountains  you  have  opened — the  boiling  flood  can 
be  perpetuated  only  by  those  fires  which  yowr  hands  kindle, 
and  which  it  is  your  daily  task  to  tend. 

The  position  you  occupy,  then,  is  one  of  most  fearful  re- 
sponsibility. You  are  directly  and  peculiarly  accessary  to 
a degree  of  guilt  and  misery  which  none  but  the  Infinite 
Mind  can  comprehend,  i hear  for  you  a loud  remonstrance 
from  every  court  of  justice,  from  every  prison  of  collected 
crime,  from  every  chamber  of  debasement,  and  from  every 
grave-yard  ; as  well  as  from  the  dark  world  of  despair.  I 
hear  the  cries  of  unnumbered  mothers,  and  widows,  and 
orphans,  all  with  one  voice  imploring  you  to  extinguish 
those  fires — to  dry  up  those  fountains — and  to  abandon  an 
occupation  pregnant  with  infamy,  and  death,  and  perdition. 

3.  The  business  of  distilling  destroys,  to  a great  extent, 
the  bounties  of  Providence. 

Many  of  the  substances  converted  into  ardent  spirit  arc 
indispensable  to  the  comfort  of  man — some  of  them  the  very 
stall' of  life.  But  the  work  of  distillation  not  only  destroys 
them  as  articles  of  food,  but  actually  converts  them  to 
poison.  An  incalculable  amount  of  grain,  and  tens  of  thou- 
sands of  hogsheads  of  sugar  and  molasses,  beside  enormous 
quantities  of  other  useful  articles,  are  eveiy  year  thus  wick- 
edly perverted  in  this  Christian  land  ! Who  does  not 
know  the  odious  fact,  that,  in  many  places,  the  distillery 
has  regulated  the  price  of  bread  1 Who  does  not  know 
that  this  engine  of  iniquity  has  at  times  so  consumed  the 
products  of  industry  as  to  make  it  difiicult  for  the  poorer 
classes  to  get  a supply  ? “ The  poor  we  have  always 

with  u.s and  cries  of  the  suffering  are  often  heard  from 


4 


ALARM  TO  DISTILLERS 


[180 


Other  lands.  Such  facts,  it  would  seem,  might  reach  the 
conscience  of  all  who  are  wantonly  destroying  Heaven’s 
gifts.  Can  you,  for  a little  selfish  gain,  persist  in  convert- 
ing the  bread  of  multitudes  into  pestilential  fire  ! How  ut- 
terly unlike  the  example  of  Him,  who,  while  feeding  thou- 
sands by  miracle,  could  still  say,  “ Gather  up  the  fragments 
which  remain,  that  nothing  be  lost.” 

4.  By  continuing  this  destructive  business  you  greatly  of- 
fend the  virtuous  and  respectable  part  of  the  community. 

The  temperance  reformation  has  been  commenced  and 
prosecuted  by  enlightened  men.  It  is  not  the  enterprise  of 
any  political  party  or  religious  sect.  It  has  the  general 
support  of  ministers  and  Christians  of  difi’erent  denomina- 
tions, of  statesmen,  judges,  lawymrs,  physicians,  and  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  in  the  walks  of  private  life.  They  re- 
gard the  enterprise  as  one,  on  the  success  of  which  hang 
the  liberties  of  our  republic  and  the  happiness  of  future 
millions. 

You  cannot  be  surprised,  then,  that  they  look  with  pain 
on  operations  directly'  adapted  to  defeat  their  plans  and 
perpetuate  the  dread  evil  they  deplore.  You  cannot  sup- 
pose that  their  eye  will  light  on  the  fountains  of  this  mighty 
evil  but  with  inexpressible  grief,  disgust,  and  indignation. 
And  if  you  have  the  common  magnanimity  of  our  nature, 
you  will  surely  cease  to  outrage  the  feelings  of  the  virtuous 
throughout  the  nation. 

5.  You  pursue  a pernicious  calling  in  opposition  to  great 
light. 

The  time  was  when  good  men  extensively'  engaged  in  the 
distilling  business  ; and  when  few  seemed  to  be  aware  of 
its  fearfully  mischievous  tendency.  The  matter  had  not 
been  a subject  of  solemn  and  extensive  discussion.  The 
sin  was  one  of  comparative  ignorance.  But  circumstances 
have  changed.  Inquiry'  has  thrown  upon  the  community  a 
flood  ot  light.  The  evil  of  intemperance  has  been  exhi- 
bited in  its  complicated  horrors.  Ardent  spirit  has  been 
found  to  be  not  only'  useless,  but  fearfully  destructive:  so 
that  the  guilt  of  manufacturing  it  is  now  enormously  aggra- 
vated. 

Good  men  were  once  engaged  in  importing  slaves.  Tliey' 
suspected  not  the  iniquity  of  the  business  ; and  an  apology 
can  be  offered  for  them  on  the  ground  of  ignorance ; but 


AND  THEIR  ALLIES. 


5 


181] 

that  trade  has  now  come  to  be  regarded  by  the  civilized 
world  in  the  same  odious  light  as  piracy  and  murder.  The 
man  who  engages  in  it  is  stamped  with  everlasting  infamy. 
And  the  reason  is,  that,  like  the  distiller,  he  now  sins  amid 
that  fulness  of  light  which  an  age  of  philanthropy  has 
poured  around  him. 

6.  Perseverance  in  the  business  of  distilling  must  necessa~ 
Tily  be  at  the  expense  of  your  own  reputation  and  that  of  your 
posterity. 

You  are  creating  and  sending  out  the  materials  of  dis- 
cord,  crime,  poverty,  disease,  and  intellectual  and  moral 
degradation.  You  are  contributing  to  perpetuate  one  of  the 
sorest  scourges  of  our  world.  And  the  scourge  can  never 
be  removed  till  those  deadly  fires  you  have  kindled  are  all 
put  out.  That  public  sentiment  which  is  worthy  of  res- 
pect calls  upon  you  to  extinguish  them.  And  the  note 
of  remonstrance  wall  wax  louder  and  louder,  till  every 
smoking  distillery  in  the  land  is  demolished.  A free  and 
enlightened  people  cannot  quietly  look  on  while  an  cne- 
m}'  is  w'orking  his  engines  and  forging  the  instruments  of 
national  bondage  and  death. 

Without  a prophet’s  vision,  I foresee  the  day  when  the 
manufacture  of  intoxicating  liquor  for  common  distribution 
will  be  classed  with  the  arts  of  counterfeiting  and  forgery 
and  the  maintenance  of  houses  for  midnight  revelry  and 
corruption.  Like  these,  the  business  will  become  a work 
only  of  darkness,  and  be  prosecuted  only  by  the  outlaw. 

Weigh  well,  then,  the  hearing  of  your  destructive  employ- 
ment on  personal  and  familj'  character.  The  employment 
may  secure  for  3mu  a little  gain,  and  perhaps  wealth.  But, 
in  a day  of  increasing  light  and  purity,  you  can  never  rid 
treasures,  thus  acquired,  of  a stigma  which  will  render  him 
miserably  poor  who  holds  them.  Upon  the  dwelling  you 
occup}’,  upon  the  fields  you  enclose,  upon  the  spot  that  en- 
tombs your  ashes,  there  will  be  fixed  an  indescribable 
gloom  and  odiousness,  to  offend  the  eye  and  sicken  the 
heart  of  a virtuous  community,  till  your  memoiy  shall  pe- 
rish. Quit  then  this  vile  business,  and  spare  j'our  name, 
spare  your  family,  spare  your  children’s  children  such  in- 
supportable shame  and  reproach. 

7.  By  prosecuting  this  business  in  a day  of  light  and  re- 
form, you  peculiarly  offend  God,  and  jeopard  your  immortal 
interests. 


6 


ALARM  TO  DISTILLERS 


[182 

In  “ times  of  ignorance,”  God,  in  a sense,  “ winked  at” 
error.  But  let  the  error  be  persisted  in  under  a full  blaze 
of  light,  and  it  must  be  the  occasion  of  a dread  retribution 
from  his  throne. 

The  circumstances  of  the  distiller  are  now  entirely  chang- 
ed. His  sin  was  once  a sin  of  ignorance,  but  is  such  no 
longer.  He  knows  he  is  taking  bread  from  the  hungry, 
and  jierverting  the  bounties  of  Providence.  He  knows  he 
is  undermining  the  very  pillars  of  our  Republic.  He  knows, 
that  by  distilling,  he  confers  no  benefits  upon  mankind.  He 
knows  he  is  diiectly  accessary  to  the  temporal  wretched- 
ness and  the  endless  wailing  of  multitudes.  And  knowing 
these  things,  and  keeping  on  his  way,  he  accumulates  guilt 
which  the  Holy  One  cannot  overlook.  If  endless  exclusion 
from  heaven  be  the  drunkard’s  doom,  can  he  be  held  guilt- 
less who  deliberately  prepared  for  him  and  perhaps  placed 
in  his  hand  the  cup  of  death  and  damnation ! This  is  not 
the  decision  either  of  Scripture  or  of  common  sense.  'Wil- 
fully persevering  to  furnish  the  sure  means  of  death,  you 
carry  to  the  judgment  the  murderer’s  character  as  clearly 
as  the  midnight  assassin. 

And  now  what  is  the  apology  for  prosecuting  a business 
so  manifestly  offensive  to  God,  and  ruinous  to  yourself  as 
well  as  others  1 Do  you  say,  ll  is  necessary  as  a 7neans  of 
support  ? But  wlience  have  3’on  derived  authority  to  pro- 
cure a living  at  the  sacrifice  of  conscience,  character,  and 
the  dearest  i-nterests  of  others  T And  is  the  maintenance  of 
a jniblic  nuisance  really  necessary  to  your  support.^  In  a 
country  like  this,  the  plea  of  necessitv"  for  crime  is  glaring- 
ly impious.  IMany  and  varied  departments  of  honest  and 
honorable  industiw  are  before  you,  all  promising  a generous 
reward.  And,  neglecting  them  for  a wicked  and  mischie- 
vous occupation,  you  must  bear  the  odium  of  a most  sordid 
avarice  or  implacable  malignity. 

You  virtually,  too,  impeach  the  character  of  God.  You 
proclaim  that  he  has  made  3'our  comfort  and  even  subsis- 
tence to  depend  upon  the  practice  of  iniquit3'.  It  is  an  im- 
])utation  he  must  repel  with  abhorrence  and  wrath.  Nor 
is  it  sustained  by  the  conscience,  reason,  or  experience  of 
an3'  man. 

But  possibl3'  you  urge  in  self-justification.  Others  will 
manufacture  spirit  if  I do  not.  But  remember  the  guilt  of 


AND  THEIR  ALLIES. 


t 


183] 

one  is  no  excuse  for  another.  “ Every  one  of  us  shall  give 
account  of  himself  to  God.”  If  others  pursue  a business 
at  the  sacrifice  of  character  and  of  heaven^  it  becomes  you 
to  avoid  their  crime,  that  you  may  escape  their  doom. 

It  is  not  certain,  however,  that  others  will  prosecute  the 
destructive  business,  if  you  abandon  it.  IMen  of  forethought 
will  not  now  embark  their  silver  and  gold  on  a pestilential 
stream,  soon  to  be  dried  up  under  that  blaze  of  light  and 
heat  which  a merciful  God  has  enkindled.  They  will  not 
dceni  it  either  wise  or  safe  to  kindle  unholy  and  deadly  fires 
where  the  jmre  river  of  the  water  of  life  is  so  soon  to  over- 
flow. In  the  eye  of  thousands  the  distillery  on  your  pre- 
mises adds  nothing  to  their  value.  Indeed,  should  they  pur- 
chase those  premises,  the  filthy  establishment  would  be  de- 
molished as  the  first  effort  of  improv'ement.  And  every 
month  and  hour  is  detracting  from  its  value  and  blacken- 
ing the  curse  that  rests  upon  it. 

Let  the  thousands  now  concerned  in  distilling  at  once 
put  out  their  fires,  and  tlie  act  would  cause  one  general 
burst  of  joy  through  the  nation;  and  any  effort  to  rekindle 
them  would  excite  an  equally  general  burst  of  indignation  and 
abhorrence.  None  but  a monster  of  depravity  would  ever 
make  the  attempt. 

But  again,  perhaps  you  say,  Nodne  is  obliged  louse  the 
spirit  that  is  made.  But  lemember  that  you  make  it  only  to 
be  used.  You  make  it  with  the  desire,  with  the  hope,  with 
the  expectation  that  it  will  be  used.  You  know  it  has  been 
used  by  thousands — by  millions — and  has  strewed  the  land 
with  desolation,'  and  peopled  hell  with  its  victims:  and 
you  cannot  but  acknowledge  that  you  would  at  once  cease 
to  make  the  liquor,  did  you  not  hope  it  icould  continue  to 
be  used!  Indeed,  you  must  see  that,  just  in  proportion  to 
your  success  will  be  the  amount  of  mischief  done  to  your 
fellow-men. 

it  seems  hardly  needful  to  say  that  the  foregoing  consi- 
derations are  all  strictly  applicable  to  such  as  furnish  the  ma- 
terials for  the  distiller.  Were  these  withheld,  his  degra- 
ding occupation  would  of  course  cease.  By  sutfering,  then, 
the  fruits  of  youV  industry  to  pass  into  his  hands,  you  per- 
petuate his  work  of  death.  You  share  in  all  his  guilt,  and 
shame,  and  curse.  And  remember,  too,  tliat  the  bushel  of 
grain,  the  barrel  of  cider,  the  hogshead  of  molasses,  for 


8 


ALARM  TO  DISTILLERS,  &C. 


[184 

which  you  thus  gain  a pittance,  may  be  returned  from  the 
fiery  process  only  to  hasten  the  infamy  and  endless  ruin  of 
a beloved  son,  or  brother,  or  friend  ! 

Nor  is  the  crime  of  the  retailer  of  ardent  spirit  essen- 
tially different.  He  takes  the  poison  from  the  distiller,  and 
insidiously  deals  it  out  to  his  fellow-men.  It  is  truly  stirring 
to  one’s  indignation  to  notice  his  variety  of  artifice  for  ren- 
dering it  enticing.  His  occupation  is  one  which  the  civil 
authorities  have,  in  some  places,  with  a noble  consistency, 
ceased  to  tolerate  ; and  one  which  must  soon  be  put  down 
by  the  loud  voice  of  public  sentiment. 

Indeed,  the  retailer,  the  distiller,  and  he  who  furnishes 
the  materials,  must  be  looked  upon  as  forming  a triple 
LEAGUE,  dangerous  alike  to  private  and  social  happiness, 
and  to  the  very  liberties  of  the  nation.  And  an  aw'akened 
people  cannot  rest  till  the  deadly  compact  is  sundered. 
Why  not,  then,  anticipate  a little  the  verdict  and  the  ven- 
geance of  a rising  tone  of  public  sentiment,  and  at  once  pro- 
claim the  unholy  alliance  dissolved  ? AVhy  not  anticipate 
the  verdict  of  an  infinitely  higher  tribunal  ? — why  not  be- 
lieve God’s  threatening,  and  escape  the  eternal  tempest 
that  lowers  for  him  who  putteth  the  cup  to  his  neighbor's  lips  1 
Why  not  co-ojierate  promptly  in  a public  reform  that  is 
regarded  with  intense  interest  in  heaven,  on  earth,  and 
in  hell  ? 

O review,  as  men  of  reason,  and  conscience,  and  im- 
mortality, this  whole  business.  And  if  you  have  no  ambi- 
tion to  benefit  your  fellow-inen — if  you  can  consent  to  ruin 
many  for  both  worlds — if  you  can  persist  in-wasting  and  per- 
verting the  bounties  of  a kind  Providence — if  3'ou  can  outrage 
the  feelings  of  the  most  enlightened  and  virtuous — if  you  can 
pursue  a work  of  darkness  amid  noon-day  light — if  you  can 
sacrifice  a good  name,  and  entail  odium  on  all  you  leave — and 
if  you  can  deliberately  offend  God,  and  jeopard  your  immortal 
interests  for  paltry  gain — tiien  go  on — go  on  a little  longer  ; 
but,  “ O MY  SOUL,  COME  NOT  THOU  INTO  THEIR  SE- 
CRET ; UNTO  THEIR  ASSEMBLY,  MINE  HONOR,  BE  NOT 
THOU  UNITED  !” 


1^0.  240 


PUTMAM  a™  the  WOEF; 

OR,  THE  5IO?;sTER  DESTROYED. 


*N  ADDRESS,  ORIGINALLY  DELIVERED  AT  POMFRET,  CONNECTICUT, 
BY  REV.  JOHN  MARSH, 


I REMEMBER,  when  a boy,  reading  a story  which  chilled 
iny  blood  in  my  veins ; but  which  taught  me  never  to  sit 
down  and  try  to  bear  any  evil  which  miglit,  by  bold  and 
persevering  effort,  be  remedied.  The  story  was  this.  A cer- 
tain district  of  country  was  infested  by  a wild  beast.  The 
nuisance  was  intolerable  The  inhabitants  rallied  and  hunted 
it  day  and  night,  until  they  drove  it  into  a deep  den.  There, 
with  dogs,  guns,  straw,  fire,  and  sulphur,  they  attacked  the 
common  enemy ; but  all  in  vain.  The  hounds  came  back  bad- 
ly wounded,  and  refused  to  return.  The  smoke  of  blazing 
straw  had  no  effect ; nor  had  the  fumes  of  burnt  brimstone. 
The  ferocious  animal  would  not  quit  its  retirement.  And 
now  the  shadows  of  evening  gath.ered  around  them.  The 


PUTNAM  AND  TllE  WOLF;  OR, 


[186 


S 

clock  struck  nine,  and  ten.  And  sliould  they  lose  their 
prey  ? They  must,  unless  some  one  should  be  so  daring  as 
to  descend  into  this  den  of  monsters  and  destroy  the  enem}’. 
One  man  offered  to  go ; but  his  neighbors  remonstrated 
against  the  perilous  enterprise.  Perilous  indeed  it  was  ; but 
live  so  they  could  not,  and  stripping  off  liis  coat  and  waist- 
coat, and  having  a long  rope  fastened  round  his  legs,  by 
which  he  might  be  pulled  back,  he  entered  with  a flaming 
torch  in  his  hand,  head  foremost.  The  most  terrifying  dark- 
ness appeared  in  front  of  the  dim  circle  aflbrded  by  his  light. 
It  was  still  as  the  house  of  death.  But  proceeding  onward 
with  unparalleled  courage,  he  discovered  the  glaring  eye- 
balls of  the  ferocious  beast,  who  was  sitting  at  the  extremity 
of  the  cavern.  For  a moment  he  retreated  ; but  again  de- 
scended with  his  musket.  The  beast  howled,  rolled  its  eyes, 
snapped  its  teeth,  and  threatened  him  with  ins-tant  death, 
when  he  leveled  and  fired  at  its  head  and  brought  it  forth 
dead,  to  the  view  of  his  trembling  and  exulting  neighbors. 

Little  did  I then  think  that  I should  one  day  see  the 
country  rallied  on  the  same  spot,  to  hunt  a more  terrible 
monster,  whose  destruction  will  require  Putnam  courage. 

The  old  enemy,  gentlemen,  which  your  fathers  hunted 
about  these  hills  and  dales,  was  visible  to  the  eye,  and  could 
be  touched  with  powder  and  ball;  but  the  enemy  whom  you 
assault  is  iike  the  foe  of  human  bliss,  which  entered  the 
garden  of  Eden,  invisible;  and,  therefore,  not  to  be  de- 
scribed, or  destroyed  by  force  of  arms.  That  enemy  did, 
indeed,  to  efiect  his  ))urpose,  assume  the  form  of  a serpent ; 
and  ours  has  been  said,  as  belonging  to  the  same  family,  to 
have  occasionally  the  same  aspect.  A gentleman  in  Missouri 
lias  recently  described  a dreadful  worm  which,  he  says,  in- 
fests that  coimtiw.  “ It  is,”  he  remarks,  “ of  a dead  lead 
coloi’,  and  generally  lives  near  a spring,  and  bites  the  unfor- 
tunate people  who  are  in  tlie  habit  of  going  there  to  drink. 
The  symptoms  of  its  bite  arc  terrible.  The  eyes  of  the  pa- 
tient become  red  and  fiery  ; the  tongue  swells  to  an  immo- 
derate size  and  obstructs  utterance,  and  delirium  of  the  most 
horrid  character  ensues.  The  name  of  this  reptile  is  ‘ the 
WORM  OF  THE  STILT..’  ” 1 suspect  it  is  one  of  the  same  fa- 
mily that  is  infesting  the  peaceful  villages  of  IVew-England, 
and  whose  ravages  have  alarmed  the  country  and  caused 
you  this  day  to  leave  your  homes  and  seek  its  destruction. 


TUE  MONSTER  DESTROYED. 


3 


IS7] 

I would  not  now  inquire  minutely  into  its  history.  It  is  said 
to  liave  originated  in  Arabia,  the  country  of  the  false  pro- 
phet. Tlie  aborigines  of  our  forests  never  knew  it.  Tliey 
could  proudly  tread  on  the  rattlesnake  and  copperhead,  but 
never  fell  before  the  worm  of  the  still.  O woful  day  when 
it  found  its  way  to  our  coasts ; when  it  here  first  generated 
its  poisonous  offspring. 

Yet  there  are  men  who  think  we  belie  it;  who  say  that 
we  are  needlessly  alarmed ; that  we  are  hunting  a friend ; 
tiiat  we  are  driving  one  from  our  country  without  whose  aid 
wo  can  never  check  the  ravages  of  disease,  or  jierform  our 
labor,  or  liave  any  hilarity.  It  is  not,  say  they,  a poisonous 
foe.  It  is  a pleasant  cordial ; a cheerful  restorative;  the  first 
fiend  of  the  infant;  the  support  of  the  enfeebled  mother; 
a sweet  luxury  given  by  the  parent  to  the  child  ; the  univer- 
sal token  of  kindness,  friendship,  and  hospitality.  It  adorns 
the  sideboards  and  tables  of  the  rich,  and  enlivens  the  so- 
cial circles  of  the  poor  ; goes  with  the  laborer  as  his  most 
cheering  companion  ; accompanies  the  mariner  in  his  long 
and  dreary  voyages  ; enlivens  the  carpenter,  the  mason,  the 
blacksmith,  the  joiner,  as  they  ply  their  trade;  follows  the 
merchant  to  his  counter,  tlie  physician  to  his  infected  rooms, 
tlie  lawyer  to  his  office,  and  the  divine  to  his  study,  cheer- 
ing all  and  comforting  all.  It  is  the  life  of  our  trainings,  and 
town-meetings,  and  elections,  and  bees,  and  raisings,  and 
harvests,  and  sleighing  parties.  It  is  the  best  domestic  me- 
dicine, good  for  a cold,  and  a cough,  and  pain  in  the  stomach, 
and  weakness  in  the  limbs,  and  loss  of  appetite,  and  rheu- 
matism, and  is  a great  support  in  old  age.  It  makes  a market 
for  our  rye  and  apples;  sustains  100,000  families  wiio  are 
distilling  and  vending,  and  pours  annuall}'  millions  of  dol- 
lars into  our  national  treasury.  Had  the  wolf  possessed  the 
cunning  of  the  fox,  she  would  have  told  Putnam  as  smooth 
a story  as  this.  But  it  would  have  made  no  diffierence.  The 
old  man’s  cornfield’s  were  fattened  by  the  blood  of  his 
sheep,  and  he  would  give  no  quarter.  And  the  blood  of  our 
countrymen  has  been  poured  out  at  the  shrine  of  the  demon 
Intemperance,  and  we  must  give  none.  Talk  we  of  Alcohol 
as  a friend  1 As  well  may  a mother  talk  of  the  crocodile  as 
a friend  who  has  devoured  her  offspring. 

Look,  my  countrymen,  at  the  ravages  of  the  monster  In- 
temperance. Fix  3’our  eye  on  its  waste  of  property. 


PUTNAAI  AND  THE  WOLF  J OR, 


[188 


It  has  annually  despoiled  our  nation,  at  the  loivest  calcu- 
lation, of  one  hundred  millions  of  dollars  ; of  thirty  millions 
for  an  article  which  is  nothing  worth,  and  seventy  or  eighty 
millions  more  to  compensate  for  the  mischiefs  that  article 
has  done  ; money  enough  to  accomplish  all  that  the  warmest 
patriot  could  wisli  to  do  for  his  country,  and  to  fill,  in  a short 
period,  the  world  wdth  Bibles  and  a preached  Gospel.  What 
farmer  would  not  be  roused  should  a wild  beast  come  once 
a year  into  Ids  borders  and  destroy  the  best  cow  in  his  farm- 
yard 1 But  6j  cents  a day  for  ardent  spirits  w-astes  §22  81 
cents  a year  ; and  in  40  years  nearly  §1,000  ; which  is  one 
thousand  times  as  mucli  as  scores  of  drunkards  are  worth 
at  their  burial. 

See  the  jiauperism  it  has  produced.  We  have  sung  of 
our  goodly  heritage,  and  foreign  nations  have  disgorged  their 
exuberant  population  that  they  might  freely  subsist  in  this 
land  of  plenty.  But  in  this  granary  of  the  world  are  every 
where  seen  houses  without  windows,  fields  wdthout  tillage, 
barns  without  roofs,  children  without  clothing,  and  peniten- 
tiaries and  alms-houses  filled  to  overllowing;  and  a traveller 
might  write — beggars  made  here.  We  are  groaning  under 
our  pauperism  and  talking  of  taxes,  and  iiard  times,  and  no 
trade  ; but  Intemperance  has  stalked  through  our  land  and 
devoured  our  substance.  It  has  entered  the  houses  of  our 
unsuspecting  inhabitants  as  a friend,  and  taken  the  food  from 
their  tables,  and  the  clothing  from  their  beds,  and  the  fuel 
from  their  fire,  and  turned  their  lands  over  to  others,  and 
drove  them  from  their  dwellings  to  subsist  on  beggary  and 
crime,  or  drag  -out  a miserable  existence  in  penitentiaries 
and  alms-houses.  Two-thirds,  or  150,000  of  the  wretched 
tenants  of  these  abodes  of  poverty  in.  the  United  States  were 
reduced  by  Intemperance.  So  themselves  confess.  It  was 
rum,  brandy,  and  whiske}^  that  did  it.  And  the  Prison  Dis- 
cipline Report  tells  of 50, 000  cases  of  imprisonment  for  debt 
annually  in  the  United  States,  in  consequence  of  the  use  of  ar- 
dent spirits.  O,  its  sweeps  of  propert}'  can  never  be  known. 

Look  at  the  crime  it  has  occasioned. 

It  is  said  that  there  is  a spring  in  China  which  makes 
every  man  that  drinks  it  a villain.  Eastern  tales  are  founded 
on  some  plain  matter  of  fact.  This  spring  ma}'  be  some  dis- 
tillery or  dram  shop.  For  this  is  the  natural  eft’ect  of  Alco- 
hol. It  breaks  down  the  conscience,  quickens  the  circula- 


ISO] 


THE  MONSTER  DESTROYED. 


tinn,  increases  the  courage,  makes  man  flout  at  [aw  and 
right,  and  hurries  him  to  the  perpetration  of  every  abomi- 
nation and  crime.  Excite  a man  by  this  fluid,  and  he  is  at 
once  bad  enough  for  any  thing.  He  can  lie,  and  steal,  and 
fight,  and  swear,  and  plunge  the  dagger  into  the  bosom  of 
his  nearest  friend.  No  vice  is  too  filthy,  no  crime  too  tra- 
gical for  the  drunkard.  The  records  of  our  courts  tell 
of  acts  committed  under  the  influence  of  rum  wliich  curdle 
the  blood  in  our  veins.  Husbands  butcher  their  wives;  chil- 
dren slaughter  their  parents.  And  it  would  seem  that  the 
far  greater  part  of  all  the  atrocities  committed  in  our  de- 
voted land,  proceed  from  the  maddening  influence  of  ardent 
spirit.  “ 1 declare  in  this  public  manner,  and  with  the  most 
solemn  regard-to  truth,”  said  Judge  Rush,  some  years  ago 
in  a charge  to  a grand  jury,  “ that  I do  not  recollect  an  in- 
stance since  my  being  concerned  in  tlie  administration  of 
justice,  of  a single  person  being  jiut  on  his  trial  for  man- 
slaughter which  did  not  originate  in  drunkenness;  and  but 
few  instances  of  trial  for  murder  wliere  the  crime  did  not 
spring  from  tlie  same  unhappy  cause.”  “ Of 895  complaints 
presented  to  the  police  court  in  Boston  in  one  year,  400 
were  under  the  statute  against  common  drunkards.  Of  1061 
cases  of  criminal  prosecution  in  a court  in  North  Carolina, 
more  than  800  proceeded  from  intemperance.  Five  thou- 
sand complaints  are  made  yearly  in  New-York  to  the  city 
police  of  outrages  committed  by  intoxicated  persons ; and 
the  late  city  attorne\'  reports,  that  of  twenty-two  cases  of 
murder  which  it  had  been  his  duty  to  examine,  ev'ery  one 
of  them  had  been  committed  in  consequence  of  intemperate 
drinking.  “ Nine-tentlis  of  all  the  prisoners  under  niy  care,” 
says  Captain  Pillsbury,  warden  of  our  own  state  prison, 
“ are  decidedly  intem]ierate  men,  and  were  brought  to  their 
present  condition  directly,  or  indirectly,  through  intoxica- 
ting liquor.  Many  have  confessed  to  me  with  tears,  that 
they  never  felt  tempted  to  the  commission  of  crime,  thus 
punisliable,  but  when  under  the  influence  of  strong  drink.” 
And  tlie  Prison  Discipline  Report  states,  “ tliat  of  125,000 
criminals  committed  to  our  prisons  in  a single  year,  93,750 
were  excited  to  their  commission  of  crime  by  spirituous 
liquors. 

Look  at  its  destruction  of  intellect. 

It  reduces  man  to  a beast,  to  a fooi,  to  a devil.  The  ex- 

Fol  8,  I 


PUTNAM  AND  THE  WOLF  ; OR, 


[190 


cessive  drinker  first  becomes  stupid,  tlien  idiotic,  then  a ma- 
niac. Men  of  the  finest  geniuses,  most  acute  minds  and  pro- 
found learning,  have  dwindled  under  the  touch  of  this  wither- 
ing demon  to  the  merest  insignificance,  and  been  hooted  bv 
hoys  for  their  silly  speeches  and  silly  actions,  or  chained  in 
a mad- house  as  unsafe  in  society.  Of  eighty-seven  admitted 
into  the  New-York  hospital  in  one  year,  the  insanity  of 
twenty-seven  was  occasioned  by  ardent  spirits ; and  the 
physicians  of  the  Pennsylvania  hospital  report,  that  one- 
third  of  the  insane  of  that  institution  were  ruined  by  intem- 
perance. What  if  one  sixth  of  our  maniacs  were  dejirived 
of  their  reason  by  the  bite  of  the  dogs,  the  friendly  inmates 
of  our  houses;  or  by  some  vegetable  common  on  our  tables  ? 
Who  would  harbor  the  dangerous  animal,  or  taste  the  poison- 
ous vegetable!  But  one-third  of  our  maniacs  are  deranged 
by  Alcohol.  Indeed  every  drunkard  is  in  a temporary  de- 
lirium ; and  no  man  who  takes  even  a little  into  his  system, 
possesses  that  sound  judgment  or  is  capable  of  that  patient 
investigation  or  intellectual  effort  which  would  be  his  with- 
out it.  Just  in  proportion  as  man  comes  under  its  influence 
he  approximates  to  idiotism  or  madness. 

Look  at  its  waste  of  health  and  life. 

The  worm  of  the  still,  sa3's  the  Missouri  gentleman,  never 
touches  the  brute  creation,  but  as  if  the  most  venomous  of 
all  beings,  it  seizes  the  noblest  pre}'.  It  bites  man.  Ami 
where  it  once  leaves  its  subtle  poison,  farewell  to  health — 
farew'ell  to  long  life.  The  door  is  open,  and  in  rush  dispep- 
sia,  jaundice,  drops}',  gout,  obstructions  of  the  liver,  epilep- 
sy— the  deadliest  plagues  let  loose  on  fallen  man — all  termi- 
nating in  delirium  tremens  or  mania  a potu — a prelude  to 
the  eternal  buffetings  of  foul  spirits  in  the  world  of  despair. 
One  out  of  every  forty,  or  three  hundred  thousand  of  our 
population  have  taken  up  their  abode  in  the  lazar-house  of 
drunkenness;  and  thirty  thousand  die  annually  the  death  of 
the  drunkard.  These  sweejrs  ot  deatli  mock  all  the  ravages 
of  war,  famine,  pestilence,  and  shipwa  ock.  The  yellow’ fever 
in  Philadelphia,  in  1793,  felt  to  be  one  of  the  greatest  curses 
of  heaven,  destroyed  but  four  thousand.  In  our  last  war 
the  sw'ord  devoured  but  live  hundred  a year.  Intemperance 
destroys  two  hundred  a week.  Shipwrecks  destroy  sudden- 
ly, and  the  country  groans  when  forty  or  fifty  human  beings 
are  sudderdy  engulfed  in  the  ocean  : but  more  than  half  of 


S91J 


TUE  MONSTEU  DESTIIOVED. 


7 


all  the  sudden  deaths  occur  in  fits  of  intoxication.  It  needed 
not  a fable  to  award  the  prize  of  greatest  ingenuity  in  malice 
and  murder  to  the  demon  who  invented  brandy,  over  tho 
demon  who  invented  war. 

Look  too  at  its  murders  of  souls. 

Not  satisfied  with  filling  jails,  and  hospitals,  and  grave- 
yards, it  must  people  hell.  Every  moral  and  religious  prin- 
ciple is  dissipated  before  it.  The  heart  becomes,  under  its 
inlluence,  harder  than  the  nether  mill-stone.  It  has  gone  into 
the  pulpit  and  made  a Judas  of  the  minister  of  Christ.  It 
has  insinuated  kself  intb  the  church,  and  bred  putrefaction 
and  death  among  the  holy.  It  has  entered  the  anxious  room 
in  seasons  of  revival  and  quenched  conviction  in  the  breast 
of  the  distressed  sinner,  or  sent  him,  exhilarated  with  a false 
hope,  to  profess  religion,  and  bo  a curse  to  the  church.  It  has 
accompanied  men.  Sabbath  after  Sabbath,  to  the  house  of 
God,  and  made  them  insensible  as  blocks  of  marble  to  al! 
the  thunders  of  Sinai  and  sweet  strains  of  Zion,  it  has  led 
to, lying,  profane  swearing,  Sabbath-breaking,  tale-bearing, 
contention ; and  raised  up  an  army,  I may  almost  satq  in 
every  village,  who  wish  for  no  Sabbath  and  no  Bible,  and 
no  Savior,  and  who  cry  out  with  stammering  tongues — 
“ Away  with  him,  crucify  him.”  It  has,  without  doubt,  been 
the  most  potent  of  all  the  emissaries  of  Satan  to  obliterate 
the  fear  of  tlie  Lord,  turn  men  away  from  tho  Sabbath  and 
the  sanctuary,  steel  them  against  the  word,  the  providence, 
and  grace  of  God,  stupify  the  conscience,  bring  into  action 
every  dark  and  vile  passion,  and  fill  up  with  immortal  souls 
the  dark  caverns  of  eternal  night.  Let  a man,  day-by-day, 
hover  around  a dram-sho]i,  and  sip  and  sip  at  his  bottle,  and 
the  devil  is  sure  of  him.  No  ministers,  no  sabbaths,  no 
jjrayers,  no  tears  from  broken-hearted  and  bleeding  rela- 
tives, can  avail  to  save  him.  He  holds  that  man  by  a chain 
which  nothing  but  Omnipotence  can  break. 

And  look,  too,  at  its  waste  of  human  happiness. 

Yes  ; look,  look  for  yourselves.  The  woes  of  drunken- 
ness mock  all  description.  Some  tell  of  the  happiness  of 
drinking.  O,  if  there  is  a wretched  being  on  earth  it  is  the 
drunkard,  llis  property  wasted,  his  character  gone,  his 
body  loathsome,  his  passions  wild,  his  appetite  craving  the 
poison  that  kills  him,  his  hopes  of  immortality  blasted  for 
ever — it  is  all 


rUTNAM  AND  THE  WOLF  ; OR, 


[19-2 


“ Me  miserable, 

“ Which  way  I fly  is  hell,  myself  am  hell.” 

And  Ids  family.  I can  never  look  at  it  but  with  feelings 
of  deepest  anguish. 

“ Domestic  happiness,  thou  only  bliss 

“ Of  Paradise  that  hast  escaped  the  fall,” 

thou  art  shipwrecked  there.  Sorrow,  woe,  wounds,  povertv, 
babblings,  and  contention,  have  entered  in  and  dwell  there. 
Yet  we  have  300,000  such  families  in  the  land;  and  if  each 
family  consists  of  four  individuals,  more  than  a million  per- 
sons are  here  made  wretched  by  this  curse  of  curses. 

And  his  death.  O,  to  die  in  our  houses,  amid  our  friends, 
and  with  the  consolations  of  religion,  strips  not  death  of  its 
character  as  the  king  of  terrors.  But  to  die  as  the  drunkard 
dies,  an  outcast  from  society,  in  some  hovel  or  alms-house, 
on  a bed  of  straw,  or  in  some  ditch,  or  pond,  or  frozen  in 
a storm  ; to  die  of  the  brain  fever,  conscience  upbraidinj, 
hell  opening,  and  foul  spirits  passing  quick  before  his  vision 
to  seize  him  before  his  time — this,  this  is  woe ; this  is  the 
triumph  of  sin  and  Satan.  Y^et  in  the  last  ten  j'ears  300,000 
have  died  in  our  land  the  death  of  the  drunkard ! — rushiu? 
where  1 — “Drunkards  shall  not  inherit  the  kingdom  of 
God” — rushing  into  hell,  where  their  worm  dieth  not  and 
their  fire  can  never  be  quenched.  And  if  the  demon  is  suf- 
fered to  continue  his  ravages,  300,000  more  of  our  e.xisting 
population  will,  in  the  same  way,  rush  into  eternal  burnings. 

And  his  funeral.  Have  you  ever  been  to  a drunkard’s 
funeral?  I do  not  ask,  did  3’ou  look  at  his  corpse?  It  was 
cadaverous  before  he  died.  But  did  you  look  at  his  father 
as  ho  bent  over  his  grave  and  e.xclaimed  in  agonv-,  “ O,  my 
son  ! my  son  ! would  to  God  1 had  died  for  thee,  mv  son.” 
Did  you  look  at  his  widow,  pale  with  grief,  and  at  his  rag- 
ged, hunger-bitten  children  at  her  side,  and  see  them  turn 
away  to  share  the  world’s  cold  pity,  or,  perhaps  rejected 
and  forlorn,  follow  the  same  path  to  death  and  hell? 

Such  are  the  ravages  of  the  demon  we  hunt.  Its  footsteps 
are  marked  with  blood.  We  glory  in  our  liberties,  and  everv 
Fourth  of  July  our  bells  ring  a merry  peal  as  if  we  were  the 
happiest  people  on  earth.  But  O,  our  country ! our  country . 
She  has  a worm  at  her  vitals,  making  fast  a wreck  of  her 
physical  energies,  her  intellect,  and  her  moral  principle ; 


THE  MONSTER  DESTROVED. 


9 


193] 

augmenting  her  pauperism  and  her  crime ; nullifying  her 
elections,  (for  a drunkard  is  not  fit  for  an  elector,)  and  pre- 
paring her  for  subjection  to  the  most  merciless  tyranny  that 
ever  scourged  any  nation  under  heaven.  We  talk  of  our  re- 
ligion and  weep  over  the  delusions  of  the  false  prophet  and 
the  liorrors  of  Juggernaut,  but  a more  deceitful  prophet  is 
in  our  churches  than  Mahomet,  and  a more  bloody  idol  than 
Juggernaut  rolls  through  our  land,  crushing  beneath  its 
wheels  otir  sons  and  our  daughters.  Wo,  wo,  wo  to  Zion. 
Satan  is  in  Eden.  And  if  no  check  is  put  to  the  ravages  of 
the  demon,  our  benevoient  institutions  must  die,  our  sanc- 
tuaries be  forsaken,  our  beautiful  fields  be  wide  wastes,  and 
tlio  church  will  read  the  history  of  her  offspring  in  the  third 
of  Romans— TAcir  throat  is  an  open  sepulchre  ; their  mouth 
is  full  of  cmsiiKj  and  bitterness  ; their  feel  are  swift  to  shed 
blood ; — all,  blasting  our  bright  hope  of  the  speedy  approach 
of  millennial  glory. 

There  is  cause  then  for  the  general  alarm  that  has  been 
excited  in  our  country;  reason  for  this  extensive  and  power- 
ful combination  to  hunt  and  destroy  the  monster,  filuch, 
blessed  be  God,  has  been  done.  He  has  been  routed  and 
brought  to  the  light  of  day ; the  mischief  he  has  done  has 
been  exposed  ; his  apologists  have  been  confronted ; he  is 
driven  into  his  den,  and  now  how  can  ho  be  destroyed? 
That  he  must  be  destroyed  there  can  be  no  question.  The 
man  who  does  not  wish  for  the  suppression  of  intemperance 
must  have  the  heart  of  a fiend ; especially  if  he  wishes  to 
grow  rich  on  the  miseries  of  his  fellow-men.  And  he  must 
be  destroyed  now.  It  is  now  or  never.  Men  may  say 
enough  has  been  done,  and  talk  about  his  being  held  where 
he  is.  He  cannot  be  held  there.  He  has  the  cunning  of  a 
serpent,  and  he  will  escape  through  some  fissure  in  the  rock 
He  is  now  in  our  power.  The  temperance  movement,  which 
has  on  it  the  impress  of  the  finger  of  God,  has  brought  him 
witliin  our  grasp ; and  if  we  let  him  escape,  the  curse  of 
curses  will  be  entailed  upon  our  children.  How  then  can 
he  be  destroyed  1 I answer,  and  thousands  answer — by 
starvation.  No  weapon  can  reach  him  so  long  as  you  feed 
him.  But  who  has  a heart  so  traitorous  to  humanity  as  to 
feed  this  monster  I Every  man  who  now,  in  the  face  of  the 
light  that  is  shed  upon  this  subject,  distils,  or  vendsj.or  uses 
ardent  spirit ; every  distillery,  and  every  dram-shop  in  the 


10 


PUTNAM  AND  THE  WuEF : OR, 


£104 


land  nourishes  tliis  foe  to  liuman  peace ; every  man  who 
takes  the  alcoholic  poison  into  his  system  or  imparts  it  to 
others,  except  as  he  takes  and  imparts  other  poisons  to 
check  disease,  gives  life  to  the  beast.  I need  not  stop  to 
prove  it.  It  is  manifest  to  the  child.  Let  ever}'  distillery 
in  the  land  cease,  and  every  dram-shop  be  closed,  and  total 
abstinence  become  the  principle  of  every  individual,  and  the 
demon  will  be  dead  ; Yes,  take  away  from  him  his  rum,  his 
brandy,  and  his  whiskey,  and  he  will  perish  for  ever.  But 
here  is  the  very  brunt  of  the  battle.  We  have  hunted  the 
monster  through  the  land,  and  driven  him  into  his  den,  and 
now  we  must  stand  at  the  very  mouth  of  the  cavern  and  con- 
tend with  our  fellow- men  and  fellow-sufferers,  yes,  and  fel- 
low-Christians  too,  who  are  cither  afraid  to  tittack  the  mon- 
ster, or  are  determined  he  shall  live. 

And  first,  we  are  met  by  a body  of  men  who  tell  us  that 
ardent  spirit  is  useful.  And  what  if  it  is  ? What  if  everv 
benefit  that  the  moderate  and  immoderate  drinker  can  think 
of  flows  from  it?  What  will  all  this  do  to  compensate  fur 
its  giant  evils  which  are  desolating  our  land?  Is  man  so  bent 
on  self-gratification  tliat  he  will  have  cveiy  sweet,  though  it 
be  mingled  with  poison  ? Y/ill  he  exercise  no  reason  1 make 
no  discrimination  between  unmixed  good  and  good  followed 
1)}'  desolating  woes?  Tea  vras  good.  But,  said  our  fathers, 
if  with  it  we  must  have  all  the  horr'ors  of  British  tyranny, 
away  with  it  from  our  dwellings.  Bly  countrymen,  “ the 
voice  of  j'our  fathers’  blood  cries  to  you  from  the  ground, 

‘ ?»[}'  sons,  scorn  to  be  slaves  !’  ” Away  with  the  shameful 
plea  that  you  cannot  do  without  an  article  which  subjects 
you  to  an  evil  ten  thousand  times  worse  than  all  the  horrors 
of  British  tyranny'.  You  kindle  the  flames  of  liberty  bv  the 
woes  of  the  prison-ship  and  the  bones  of  your  countrymen 
whitening  on  the  shores  of  Pvew-Jerscy.  O,  crouch  not  to 
a U'rant  wlio  binds  a million  in  his  chains,  and  demands  thirty 
thousand  annualh'  for  his  victims.  I blush  for  the  imbecility 
of  the  man  who  must  have  an  article  on  his  farm  which  eats 
up  his  substance  and  his  vitals,  and  may  turn  his  son  into 
an  idiot  and  a brute.  Better  have  no  farm.  Better  go  at 
once  with  his  family  into  the  poor-house  and  be  supported 
by  public  charity. 

Next  comes  canting  Hypocrisy  with  his  Bible  in  his  hand, 
telling  us  fliat  “ every  creature  of  God  is  good,  and  nothing 


THE  MONSTEU  DESTUOYED. 


11 


lyoj 

to  be  refused,  if  it  be  received  with  tlianksgiving.”  What 
does  he  mean  1 that  ardent  spirit  is  the  gift  of  God  1 Pray, 
in  what  stream  of  his  bounty,  from  what  mountain  and  hill 
does  it  flow  down  to  man  1 O,  it  is  in  the  rye,  and  the  ap- 
ple, and  the  sugar,  and  the  Mussulman  has  taught  us  Chris- 
tians how  to  distill  it.  And  so  the  poet  tells  us  Satan  taught 
his  legions  how  to  make  gunpowder.  “ There  are,”  said  he, 

“ Deep  under  ground,  materials  dark  and  crude, 

Of  spirituous  and  fieiy  spume. 

These,  in  their  dark  nativity,  the  deep 
Shall  yield  us,  pregnant  with  internal  flame ; 

Which,  into  hollow  engines,  long  and  round. 

Thick  ramm’d,  at  th’  other  bore  with  touch  of  fire 
Dilated  and  infuriate,  shall  send  forth 
From  far,  with  thundering  noise,  among  our  foes 
Such  implements  of  mischief  as  shall  dash 
To  pieces  and  o’erwhelm  whatever  stands 
Adverse. 

Th’  invention  all  admired;  up  they  turn’d 
Wide  the  celestial  soil;  sulphurous  and  nitrous  foam 
They  found,  they  mingled;  and,  with  su’otle  art 
Concocted  and  adjusted,  they  reduced 
To  blackest  grain.” 

And  now,  to  carry  out  the  argument,  gunpowder,  and  guns, 
and  swords,  are  the  gift  of  God,  and  men  must  needs  use 
them  and  kill  one  another  as  fast  as  possible. 

But  nothing,  it  is  plead,  was  made  in  vain.  Spirit  is  good 
for  something,  and  to  banish  it  from  use,  and  promise  that 
we  will  “ touch  not,  taste  not,  handle  not,”  is  contempt  of 
the  works  of  God.  I should  like  to  have  seen  what  the 
Pomfret  hero  would  have  done  with  a man  who  should 
have  stood  before  him,  and  said.  Don’t  you  destroy  that 
wolf,  God  made  it,  and  it  may  be  good  for  something. 

Ne.xt,  we  are  checked  in  our  principle  of  starvation  by  a 
.set  of  thoughtless  youth  and  presumptuous  men,  who  say 
tliere  is  no  danger  from  the  demon  if  we  keep  him  low.  All 
his  ravages  have  been  occasioned  by  his  being  full  fed.  Let 
him  sip  but  little,  feed  him  prudently^  and  he  will  do  no 
harm. 

“ Good,”  says  the  demon,  growling  in  his  den,  “ That 
is  all  1 want.  The  doctrine  of  prudent  use  is  the  basis  of 
iny  kingdom.  Temperate  drinking  has  made  all  the  drunk- 
ards in  the  land,  and  keep  it  up  in  all  your  towns  and  vil- 
lages, and  I shall  be  satisfied.” 


12 


PUTNAM  AND  THE  U'OLF  ; OR, 


[196 


On  this  point,  gentlemen,  i-can  scarce  control  my  feel- 
ings ; such  is  the  delusion  on  the  minds  of  thousands  among 
IIS.  Prudent  use  can  do  no  harm,  and  prudent  use  does 
not  keep  Intemperance  in  the  laud.  These  are  the  strong 
holds  of  the  monster,  and  these  must  be  broken  down. 

It  is  the  united  testim.ony  of  every  Chemist  and  Physi- 
cian that  distilled  spirit  is  a subtle  Poison,  deranging  and 
laj'ing  waste  body  and  soul.  “ Not  a blood  vessel,”  sa3's 
Dr.  Musse^',  “ however  minute,  not  a thread  of  nerve  in 
the  whole  animal  machine  escapes  its  influence.  It  dis- 
turbs the  functions'of  life;  it  increases  for  a time  the  ac- 
tion of  the  living  organs,  but  lessens  the  power  of  that  ac- 
tion ; hence  the  deep  depression  and  collapse  which  follow 
preternatural  excitement.  By  habitual  use  it  renders  the 
living  fibre  less  and  less  susceptible  to  the  health^'  opera- 
tion of  unstimulating  food  and  drink,  its  exciting  influences 
soon  become  incorporated  with  all  the  living  actions  of  the 
body,  and  the  diurnal  sensations  of  hunger,  thirst,  and  ex- 
haustion, are  strongly  associated  with  the  recollection  of  its 
exhilarating  effects,  and  thus  bring  along  with  them  the  re- 
sistless desire  for  its  repetition.”  IMore  than  50  jier  cent, 
of  common  spirits  are  Alcohol,  a deadlv  substance,  holding 
rank  with  henbane,  hemlock,  prussic  acid,  foxglove,  poison 
sumach.  Nausea,  vertigo,  vomiting,  exhilaration  of  spirits 
for  a time  and  subsequent  stupor,  and  even  total  insensibil- 
ity and  death,  are  their  accompaniments.  Broussais. re- 
marks, “ A single  portion  of  ardent  spirit  taken  into  the 
stomach  pioduces  a temporary  phlogosis.”  Now  I submit 
it  to  every  considerate  man,  whether  there  can  be  any  pru- 
dent use  of  a poison,  a single  portion  of  which  produces 
the  same  disease  of  which  the  drunkard  dies,  and  a disease 
which  brings  along  with  it  a resistless  desire  for  a repetition 
of  the  draught. 

Thoughtress  sclf-sufTicient  men  say,  they  can  control 
this  desire,  can  govern  their  appetite,  can  enjov  the  exhi- 
laration of  strong  drink,  and  yet  be  temperate.  Let  them 
look  at  the  poor  inebriate  wallowing  in  his  jiollution.  lie 
once  stood  just  where  the}'  stand  ; boasted  just  as  they 
boast  , had  as  fair  character,  and  as  kind  friends,  and  as 
precious  a soul  and  bright  hopes  oi  heaven,  as  they  have. 
Let  them  tell  why  he  does  not  control  his  appetite.  Per- 
haps they  say , he  is  a fool.  Ah  ! what  made  him  a fool  ? — 


THE  MONSTER  DESTROYED 


13 


197] 


Or,  Ills  reason  is  gone.  And  what  took  away  his  reason  ? — 
Or,  he  has  lost  his  character.  And  what  took  away  his 
character  ?^Or,  his  sense  of  shame  is  departed.  And 
what  took  away  his  sense  of  shame  1 Ah ! here  is  the 
dreadful  secret  which  it  may  be  well  for  all,  boasting  of 
their  power  of  self-control,  to  know.  At  the  very  mo- 
ment when  the  man  thinks  he  stands  firm,  and  reason  can 
control  appetite,  his  moral  sense  departs,  his  shame  is 
gone,  and  he  turns,  through  the  power  of  his  morning  bit- 
ters and  oft-repeated  drams,  into  the  brute  and  the  maniac. 
With  the  moral  sensibilities  laid  waste,  reason  here  has  only 
the  power  of  the  helmsman  before  the  whirlwind.  “ Twenty 
years  ago,”  says  Nott,  “ a respectable  householder  came  in 
the  morning  with  a glass  of  bitters  in  his  hand,  and  olfered 
it  to  his  guest,  saying.  Take  it,  it  will  do  you  good.  I 
have  taken  it  for  some  years  and  I think  it  does  me  good, 
and  I never  want  any  more.  Time  passed  on,  and  pre- 
sently the  bottle  of  bitters  in  the  closet  was  exchanged  for 
the  barrel  of  whiskey  in  the  cellar,  and  the  poor  man  was 
often  at  the  tap  for  just  as  much  as  would  do  him  good,  and 
he  never  wanted  any  more.  Time  passed  on,  and  a hogs- 
head was  needful,  and  its  contents  were  exhausted  with  the 
same  intent  and  the  same  self-deceivings.  At  length  the 
home  of  his  family  was  l elinquished  to  his  creditors  ; his 
polluted  body  was  lodged  in  a jail,  from  which  he  presently 
issued  a drunken  vagabond,  and  wandered  a wretched  being, 
until  he  found  a drunkard’s  grave.”  It  is  but  the  history 
of  thousands.  No  laws  of  nature  act  with  more  uniformity 
than  the  laws  of  Intemperance.  • No  inoculation  sends  with 
more  certainty  disease  into  the  system  than  drinking  strong 
drink.  Hundreds  - have  made  an  agonizing  struggle  to  es- 
cape from  perdition.  They  have  seen  their  sin  and  dan- 
ger ; they  have  walked  the  streets  in  agony ; they  have 
gone  to  their  homes  and  looked  at  their  wives  and  chil- 
dren, and  into  the  pit  of  despair ; but  their  feverish  sto- 
mach has  cried  give,  give  ; and  they  have  drank  often  and 
often,  with  the  solemn  promise  that  it  should  be  the  last 
time  ; until  they  have  exclaimed,  with  a once  interesting 
youth,  “ I know  I am  a ruined  man,  but  I cannot  stop.” 

Some,  indeed,  through  much  care  and  strength  of  con- 
stitution, may  escape ; but  the  plague,  if  it  appear  not  in 
their  skin  and  their  bone,  may  break  out  in  their  children, 
Vol.  8.  12 


!4 


PUTNAM  AND  THE  WOLF  ; OR, 


[198 


“I  will  drink  some,”  said  an  aged  deacon  of  a church  of 
Christ,  “ for  it  does  me  good.”  God  was  merciful  though 
he  tempted  heaven,  and  it  is  said  that  he  died  with  his  cha- 
racter untarnished ; but  six  loathsome  sons  drank  up  his 
substance,  with  the  leprosy  in  their  foreheads.  What  a 
meeting  must  there  be  between  that  deacon  and  his  sons 
on  the  judgment  day  ! O,  the  doctrine  of  prudent  use 
must  be  abandoned  by  every  considerate  mind.  It  can 
have  no  standard.  Every  man  thinks  he  drinks  prudently 
whether  he  takes  one  glass  a day  or  five ; and  is  just  as 
much  excited  and  just  ns  liable  to  drunkenness  as  all  drunk- 
ards were  when  the}'  stood  where  he  now  stands.  He  only 
that  entirely  abstains  can  properly  be  called  a temperate 
man.  And  he  only  is  clear  from  the  guilt  of  spreading 
Intemperance  through  the  land.  Say  what  they  will,  mo- 
derate drinkers  are  the  life  of  this  bloody  system  which  is 
wringing  with  agony  the  hearts  of  thousands.  Did  all  who 
drink,  at  once  drink  to  excess,  alcohol  would  be  viewed 
witii  dread,  as  is  laudanum  and  arsenic.  Better  that  all 
who  tasted  it  were  at  once  made  drunkards ; then  drunk- 
ards would  be  as  scarce  as  suicides.  But  men  now  sip 
moderately  and  are  reputable,  and  think  themselves  safe ; 
and  one  in  every  forty  sinks  to  drunkenness ; and  thus, 
among  twelve  millions  of  people,  drinking  nioderateh’,  the 
demon  has  perpetually  300,000  victims.  And  for  these, 
while  all  are  thus  paying  homage  to  the  bottle,  there  is 
there  can  be  no  hope.  The  lost  wretch  may  wake  from 
his  brutality  and  crime,  and  resolve  that  he  will  reform, 
and  his  broken-hearted  wife  may  hope  that  the  storms  o! 
life  are  over,  and  his  babes  may  smile  at  his  strange  kind- 
ness and  care  ; but  the  universal  presence  of  the  into.xicat- 
ing  fluid,  and  the  example  of  the  wise  and  the  good  around 
him,  will  thwart  all  his  resolutions,  and  he  will  inevitably 
go  back,  like  the  dog  to  his  vomit.  All  the  drunkenness 
then  that  shall  pollute  our  land  must  be  traced  to  moderate 
drinkers.  They  feed  the  monster.  Thej'  keep  in  counte- 
nance the  distillery  and  the  dram-shop,  and  every  drunkard 
that  reels  in  the  streets.  Moderate  use  is  to  this  kingdom 
of  blood  what  the  thousand  rivulets  and  streams  are  to  the 
mighty  river.  O,  how  have  we  been  deceived.  We  long 
searched  for  the  poison  that  was  destrot'ing  our  life.  The 
drop  said,  It  is  not  in  me — I am  but  a drop,  and  can  do  no 


•rHE  MONSTER  DESTROYED. 


i9y] 


1£ 


liarm.  Tlie  little  stream  said,  It  is  not  me.  Am  I not  a 
little  one,  and  can  do  no  harm.  And  the  demon  Intempe- 
rance, as  she  prowled  around  us,  said.  Let  my  drops  and  my 
rivulets  alone,  they  can  do  no  harm.  Go  stop,  if  you  can, 
the  mighty  river.  We  believed  her.  But  the  river  baffled 
our  effoi  ts.  Its  torrents  rolled  on,  and  we  contented  our- 
selves with  snatching  here  and  there  a youth  from  destruc- 
tion. But  we  now  see  that  the  poison  is  in  the  drops  and 
the  rivulets ; and  that  without  these,  that  river  of  death, 
which  is  sweeping  the  young  and  the  old  into  the  ocean  of 
despair,  would  cease  for  ever.  And  we  call  ifpon  these 
self-styled  prudent,  temperate  drinkers,  to  pause  and  look 
at  the  tremendous  responsibility  and  guilt  of  entailing 
drunkenness  upon  their  country  for  ever. 

But  we  are  met  with  more  serious  opposers  to  the  plan 
of  starvation.  They  are,  they  say,  the  bone  and  muscle  of 
the  (5t)untry.  They  come  from  the  farms,  the  ship-yards, 
and  work-shops,  and  say  if  3'ou  starve  out  this  monster  we 
shall  be  starved  out,  for  we  cannot  do  our  work  and  get  a 
living  without  rum  or  whiskey ; though,  according  to  their 
own  confession,  they  have  found  it  hard  living  with.  Their 
rum  and  their  whiskey  have  cost  them  double  and  treble 
their  other  taxes — their  sons  have  become  vile,  their  work- 
men turbulent,  their  tools  have  been  broken,  and  man^'  of 
themselves  are  already  sinking  under  its  enfeebling  influ- 
ence. 

With  such  it  is  hard  to  reason.  They  have  tried  but 
one  side,  and  are  incapable  of  judging  the  case.  We  can 
only  tell  them  there  is  no  danger.  Not  a particle  of  nou- 
rishment does  spirit  afi'ord  them.  The  hard  drinker  totters 
as  he  walks.  The  poor  inebriate  can  neither  stand  nor  go. 
We  can  point  them  to  hundreds  and  thousands  of  their  own 
profession,  honest  men,  who  solemnly  testify  that  they  are 
healthier  and  stronger,  can  perform  more  labor,  and  endure 
the  frosts  of  winter  and  heat  of  summer  better  without  it 
than  with  it.  We  can  ask  them  whether  tliey  fuih'  believe 
that  the  God  of  heaven,  a God  of  love,  has  put  them  under 
the  dire  necessity  of  using  daily  an  article  which,  with  such 
awful  certainty,  makes  drunkards ; and  whether,  when  he 
has  said.  Woe  to  him  that  giveth  his  neighbor  strong  drink, 
he  has  said,  too,  you  must  all  drink  it,  it  is  necessary  for 
you.  But  such  never  can  be  taught  and  convinced  but  by 


PUTNAM  AND  THE  WOLF  ; OR, 


16 


[200 


experience ; and  to  such  we  would  say,  Try  it  for  your- 
selves. 

Our  next  opposition,  gentlemen,  is  from  a band  clothed 
in  white — professors  of  our  holy  religion — enlisted  soldiers 
of  Christ;  engaged  to  every  work  of  benevolence — they 
come,  O,  tell  it  not  in  Gath ! to  intercede  for  the  monstej-, 
and  oppose  our  enterprise.  Is  not  this,  you  ask,  a libel  1 
/Vlas  ! every  report  from  every  temperance  society  in  the 
land  tells  of  opposition  from  professors  of  religion. 

What  can  be  the  meaning  of  this?  Has  not  intempe- 
rance been'the  greatest  curse  to  the  church  ? Has  it  not 
caused  her  to  bleed  at  ev'ery  pore  ? And  have  not  her 
members  cried  to  heaven  that  the  destroyer  might  perish  ? 
And  now,  when  God  has  put  into  their  hands  a weapon  by 
which  it  may  at  once  'be  exterminated,  will  they  hesitate  ? 
Will  they  hang  back  ? Will  they  say,  we  cannot  make  the 
sacrifice  ? O v/bere  lies  this  astonishing  witchery  ? What 
has  put  the  church  to  sleep  ? What  has  made  her  angry  at 
the  call  to  come  out  from  the  embrace  of  her  deadliest  foe  ? 
O,  what  has  he,  who  drinks  the  cup  ol  the  Lord,  to  do  with 
the  cup  of  devils  ? Docs  he  need  it  to  make  him  serious 
or  prayerful,  or  to  enable  him  better  to  understand  the 
word  of  God,  or  bear  reproach  for  Christ,  or  discharge  his 
Christian  duties,  or  open  his  heart  in  charity?  Does  it  not 
palsy  the  heart,  quench  the  spirit  ot  prayer,  seal  up  every 
lioly  and  benevolent  feeling,  and  turn  many^  from  Christ, 
that  they  walk  no  more  with  him?  What  can  a professor 
mean  who  refuses  to  enlist  under  the  temperance  banner  ? 
Does  he  really  want  the  monster  to  live  ? Does  he  pray 
that  he  may?  Will  he  stand  aloof  from  this  conQict?  Is 
he  determined  to  deny  himself  in  nothing?  To  care  not 
if  others  peris!)  ? To  risk  shipwreck  of  character  and  con- 
science, and  to  keep  in  countenance  every  drunkard  and 
dram-shop  around  him  ? Is  it  nothing  to  him  that  Intem- 
perance spreads  like  a malaria  to  every'  city,  and  village, 
and  neighborhood,  until  the  land  shall  send  up  nothing  but 
the  vapors  of  a moral  putrefaction,  and  none  shall  here 
pray,  or  preach,  or  seek  God ; but  ignorance,  and  crime, 
and  suffering,  withering  comfort  and  hope,  shall  go  hand  in 
i)and,  until  we  can  be  purified  only  by'  a rain  ot  fire  and 
brimstone  from  heaven  ? O for  shame  ! for  shame  ! I.et 
the  Christian,  pleading  for  a little  intoxicating  liquor,  be 


201] 


THE  MONSTEll  0ESTROVED. 


17 


alarmed : let  him  escape  as  for  his  life  from  the  kingdom 
of  darkness.  “ Come  out  of  her,  my  people,  that  ye  be  not 
partakers  of  Iter  sins,  and  that  ye  receive  not  of  her  plagues.” 

Next  to  diseased  appetite,  the  love  of  money  is  the  most 
potent  principle  in  the  breast  of  depraved  man.  Thirty-six 
thousand  distillers,  and  eighty-five  thousand  venders  of  ar- 
dent spirits  in  our  land,  form  a tremendous  host  in  opposi- 
tion to  our  enterprise.  They  live  every  where. 

“ Pass  where  we  may,  through  city  or  through  town, 

‘ Village  or  hamlet,  of  this  merry  laud, 

“ every  twentieth  pace 

“ Conducts  the  unguarded  nose  to  such  a whiff 
“ Of  stale  debauch,  forth  issuing  from  the  sties 
“ That  law  has  licensed,  as  makes  Temperance  reel.’' 

They  live  wherever  the  demon  has  his  haunts.  Or  rather 
he  lives  where  they  live  ; for  they  feed  him.  And  while  he 
fattens  on  the  article  they  make  and  vend,  they  receive  in 
return  the  silver  and  gold-of  his  deluded  victims.  Now  how 
can  this  formidable  host,  who  cry  out,  Our  craft  is  in  danger, 
by  this  demon  we  have  our  wealth  ; how  can  they  be  met  1 
Can  they  be  met  at  all  1 Yes,  they  can — for  they  aie  men  ; 
generally,  reputable  men ; in  cases  not  a few,  pious  men  ; 
and  all  have  consciences,  and  may  be  made  to  feel  their  ac- 
countableness to  God.  Now  let  them  be  told  that  they  keep 
this  monster  alive  ; that  to  their  distilleries  and  shops  may 
bo  traced  all  the  poverty,  and  contention,  and  tears,  and 
blood,  which  drunkenness  produces;  that  their  occupation 
is  to  poison  the  young  and  the  old ; and  by  dealing  out  gal- 
lons, and  quarts,  and  pints,  and  gills,  they  fill  up,  with 
drunkards,  the  highway  to  hell;  that  they  do  all  this  to  get 
the  money  of  the  wretched  victims;  that  the  tears  of  broken- 
hearted widows  and  orphan  children  are  entering  into  the 
ears  of  the  Lord  of  Sabaoth,  and  that  neither  God  nor  tlieir 
consciences  will  hold  them  guiltless  in  this  thing,  and  sure  I 
am  that  they  will  be  filled  with  horror  at  their  own  doings, 
and  quit  their  business. 

If  there  are  some  so  hardened  and  dead  to  all  tlie  best 
interests  of  men  as  to  persist,  against  tlie  light  of  the  age,  in 
the  business  of  making  drunkards,  let  the  public  indignation 
burn  against  them  till  they  can  no  longer  stand  before  its 
fires.  Let  a distillery  be  viewed  as  a protestant  would  view 


18 


PUTNAM  AND  THE  WOLF  ; OR, 


[202 


the  inquisition,  wliere  tlie  racks,  the  tortures,  and  the  fires, 
consume  tlie  innocent.  Let  the  dram-shop  be  ranked,  as 
Judge  Dagget  says  it  should  be,  with  tlie  haunts  of  counter- 
feiters, the  depositories  of  stolen  goods,  and  the  retreats  of 
tliieves ; and  over  its  door  let  it  be  written,  “ The  way  to 
hell,  leading  down  to  the  chambers  of  death.”  The  time 
has  been  when  a vender  could  deal  out,  day-by-day,  the 
licjuid  poison  to  the  tottering  drunkard,  attend  his  funeral, 
help  lay  him  in  tlie  grave;  then  go  home,  post  up  his  books, 
turn  the  widow  and  her  babes  into  the  streets  to  perish  with 
hunger  or  be  sujiported  by  charity,  and  yet  sustain  a good 
reputation.  But  in  future,  whenever  the  community  shall 
stand  around  the  grave  of  a drunkard,  let  the  eyes  of  all  be 
li.xed  on  the  inhuman  vender ; let  him  be  called  to  take  one 
solemn  look  into  the  grave  of  the  slain  and  the  pit  of  the 
damned;  and  if  he  will  return  to  the  ruin  of  his  fellow-men, 
let  the  voice  of  his  brother’s  blood  cry  to  him  from  the 
ground,  and  his  punishment  be  greater  than  he  can  bear. 

Perhaps  some  reputable  vender  is  oflended  at  the  free- 
dom of  these  remarks.  I would  ask  him  if  he  has  never 
been  oli'endcd  at  the  smell  of  that  filthy  drunkard  who  has 
hung  around  him?  1 would  ask  him  if  his  conscience  has 
never  stung  him  as  ragged  children  have  come  to  him  in 
bleak  November  to  have  him  fill  their  father’s  bottle?  1 
would  ask  him  if  his  soul  has  never  shook  within  him  as  he 
passed,  in  the  darkness  of  night,  the  grave-yard  where  three, 
four,  or  five  of  his  neighbors  lie  without  even  a tomb-stone, 
who  found  their  death  at  his  counter?  His  traffic  may  be 
profitable,  but  let  him  beware  lest  while  he  feeds  the  mon- 
ster it  turns  and  devours  him  and  his  ofi'spring.  At  least,  let 
him  solemnly  inquire  before  God,  whether  he  can  be  a vir- 
tuous man  and  knowing!}'  promote  vice  ; or  an  honest  man, 
and  rob  his  neighbor  by  selling  an  article  which  jiromotes 
sorrow,  disease,  and  death 

1 congratulate  you,  gentlemen,  on  tlie  stand  which  you 
have  taken  against  the  monster  Intemperance,  and  on  the 
success  with  which  your  efforts  have  been  crowned.  You 
are  donig  a work  for  this  country  for  which  future  genera- 
tions will  call  you  blessed.  Let  your  watchword  be  onwani, 
extermination,  death;  and  victory  will  be  yours.  Our  wea- 
pons are  simple,  but  mighty.  O what  a discovery  is  this 
principle  of  entire  abstinence!  Let  the  name  of  its  auilior 


THE  MONSTER  DESTROYED. 


19 


203] 


be  embalmed  with  that  of  Luther,  and  Howard,  and  Raikes, 
and  Wiiberforce.  What  has  it  not  already  done  for  our  suf- 
fering country  ! What  a change  meets  the  eye  as  it  wanders 
from  Georgia  to  Maine — from  the  'Atlantic  to  our  western 
borders.  Here  we  see  farms  tilled ; there  buildings  raised ; 
here  churches  built;  there  vessels  reared,  launched,  and  na- 
vigated too  ; manufactories  conducted;  fisheries  carried  on; 
prisons  governed;  commercial  business  transacted ; journeys 
performed  ; physicians  visiting  their  patients  ; legislators  en- 
acting laws;  lawyers  pleading  for  justice;  judges  deciding 
the  fate  of  men,  and  ministers  preaching  tlie  everlasting 
Gospel — without  intoxicating  liquor.  Here  we  see  importers 
unwilling  to  risk  the  importation  of  spirituous  liquor  into 
the  land;  there  distillers  abandoning  their  distilleries  as 
curses  to  themselves  and  the  community ; and  merchants, 
not  a few,  expelling  the  poison  from  their  stores,  and  some 
pouring  it  upon  the  ground,  choosing  that  the  earth  should 
swallow  it  rather  than  man.  And  all  this  in  the  short  space 
uf  three  years.  What  has  done  it.?  Entire  abstinence. 
What  then  will  not  be  done,  when  instead  of  50,000  who 
now  avow  it,  500,000  shall  give  their  pledge  that  they  will 
abandon  a kingdom  founded  in  blood.  And  can  they  not 
be  found  in  this  land  of  b.umane  men,  and  patriots,  and 
Christians?  Yes,  they  can.  Onward  then,  gentlemen.  Lis- 
ten not  to  those  who  say  you  are  carrying  matters  too  far. 
So  said  the  wolf.  She  loved  life,  and  she  loved  blood.  But 
did  she  ever  regard  the  cry  of  the  sheep?  The  monster  In- 
temperance has  been  glutted  with  blood;  and  never  spared 
and  had  no  pity.  He  still  howls  for  blood;  and  many  plead 
that  he  may  have  some.  But  depend  upon  it,  their  pleas 
are  only  those  of  debased  appetite  and  avarice.  Rally  the 
community  against  them.  Enlighten  the  public  mind.  Col- 
lect facts.  Let  your  towns  and  villages  be  searched  with 
candles.  Go  into  the  dens.  Bring  the  monster  and  his  suf- 
fering victims  to  light,  and  the  public  indignation  will  no 
longer  slumber. 

Of  one  thing  I will  remind  you.  The  demon  will  daunt 
the  timid.  It  is  noisy  and  fiery.  Attack  it,  and  it  will  roll 
its  eyes,  and  snap  its  teeth,  and  threaten  vengeance.  At- 
tempt to  starve  it  and  it  will  rave  like  the  famished  tiger. 
Thousands  have  fed  it  against  their  consciences,  rather  than 
meet  its  fury.  But  fear  not.  The  use  of  ardent  spirit  meets 
6* 


‘20 


PUTNAM  AND  THE  WOLP,  to 


[204 


no  support  in  the  Bible  or  the  conscience  and  the  traffic 
meets  none.  Be  firm.  Be  decided.  Be  courageous.  Connect 
your  cause  witli  heaven.-  It  is  the  cause  of  God;  the  cause 
for  which  Immanuel  died.  O,  as  men  and  patriots,  banisli 
Intemperance,  witli  all  its  sources,  from  your  country  and 
ihe  land.  As  ministers  and  Christians,  banish  it  for  ever 
from  the  churchc-s  of  the  living  God.  Let  the  demon  no 
longer  hide  in  the  sanctuary.  Let  entire  abstinence  be 
written  in  capitals  over  the  door  of  every  church.  Expeli 
for  ever  the  accursed  enemy,  that  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord 
may  descend  and  bless  us  with  life  and  peace. 

To  those  not  connected  with  the  Temperance  Associa- 
tion, I would  say — Look  at  this  enterprise.  It  injures  no 
man,  wrongs  no  man,  defrauds  no  man,  has  no  sectarian  or 
political  object  in  view ; it  would  only  relieve  our  infant 
nation  of  a burden  and  a curse  which  is  fast  placing  it  side 
by  side  with  buried  Sodom.  As  wise  men,  judge  ye  of  its 
importance  and  merits.  As  men  hastening  to  judgment,  act 
in  relation  to  it.  A solemn  responsibility  rests  upon  you. 
Shall  the  land  now  be  rid  of  Intemperance?  You  reply, 
yes — and  talk  of  wholesome  laws,  and  high  licenses,  and 
prudent  use.  Three  green  withes  on  Samson.  Entire  ab- 
stinence is  the  only  weapon  which  will  destroy  the  monster. 
“ But  we  can  practise  that  without  giving  our  pledge.’ 
True.  But  until  you  give  it,  he  will  count  you  his  friend 
and  haunt  3'our  dwelling.  In  this  cause  there  is  no  neutral- 
itj'.  Have  3’ou  supported  this  cruel  kingdom  of  darkness 
and  death  Will  you  do  it  longer?  Shall  conscience  be 
riven  b}'  the  act  ? Shall  the  land  that  bears  you  be  cursed  ; 
the  young  around  you  be  sporting  with  hell ; the  awakened 
sinner  be  drowning  conviction  at  his  bottle  ; the  once  fair 
communicant  be  disgraced  ; the  once  happy  congregation  be 
rent ; its  ministry  be  driven  from  the  altar,  and  its  sanctuary 
crumble  to  ruin  ? Shall  our  benevolent  institutions  fail,  and 
our  liberties  be  sacrificed .'  Shall  God  be  grieved.'  Shall 
wailings  from  the  bottomless  pit  hereafter  reproach  and 
agonize  you  as  the  cause  of  the  ruin,  perhaps  of  your  chil- 
dren and  children’s  children?  Methinks  one  common  pulsa- 
tion beats  in  your  hearts,  and  t’ou  answer,  No.  No.  Me- 
thinks I see  v’ou  rising  in  the  majesty  of  freemen  and  Chris- 
tians, in  behalf  of  an  injured  country  and  church,  and  de- 
stroying at  once  the  demon  among  you. 


ARGUMENT 


MO.  242 


AGAINST  THE 

XV1ANUFACTU1I.IS  OF  ARBFSiTT  SPIRITS. 

ADDRESSEB  TO  THE 

DISTILLER  AND  THE  FURNISHER 

OF  THE  MATERIALS. 

BY  REV.  EDWARD  HITCHCOCK. 


You  stand  at  the  fountain  head  of  that  fiery  stream  which  is  spreading  volcanic 
desolation  over  the  land.  Oh,  shut  up  the  sluices  before  every  verdant  spot  is  bu- 
ried beneath  the  inundation..— -Page  i-4. 


A SENSE  of  duty  impels  me  to  address  this  portion  of  my 
fellow-citizens,  in  the  hope  that  I may  persuade  them  to 
abandon  the  employment  by  which  they  furnish  ardent 
spirits  to  the  community.  1 am  not  about  to  charge  them 
as  the  intentional  authors  of  all  the  evils  our  country  suf- 
fers from  intemperance  ; nor  wholly  to  clear  myself  from 
the  guilt;  for  some  of  these  men  are  my  neighbors  and  per- 
sonal friends  ; and  I know  them  to  be  convinced  that  the 
excessive  use  of  ardent  spirits  is  a frightful  evil  among  us, 


2 


ARGUMENT  AGAINST  ARDENT  SPIRITS. 


[210 


and  that  they  would  cheerfully  join  in  some  measures  for 
its  suppression,  though  not  yet  satisfied  that  those  now  in 
train  are  judicious  or  necessary.  Not  long  ago  I was  in 
essentially  the  same  state  of  mind,  and  encouraged  these 
men  in  the  manufacture  of  spirits,  by  the  purchase  and  use 
of  them.  Now  I would  fain  believe  that  the  minds  of  all 
these  individuals  are  open  to  conviction,  and  that  the  same 
arguments  which  satisfied  me  that  I was  wrong,  will  satisfy 
them. 

Ill  the  first  place,  therefore,  I would  reason  with  these  men 
as  a Chemical  Philosopher.  The  distiller  is  a practical  che- 
mist ; and  although  he  may  never  have  studied  chemistry  in 
the  schools,  he  cannot  but  have  often  thought  of  the  theory  of 
his  operations.  And  the  fai  mer  who  receives  at  the  distillery, 
in  return  for  his  r^'e,  cider,  or  molasses,  a liquid  powerful 
substance,  obtained  from  them,  will  very  naturally  inquire 
by  what  strange  transformation  these  articles  have  been 
made  to  yield  something  apparently  so  very  difierent  from 
their  nature.  Probably  some  of  them  may  have  concluded 
that  the  spirits  exist  naturally  in  the  grain,  and  apples,  and 
sugar-cane,  just  as  flour  and  cider  and  molasses  do.  And 
hence  the}'  have  inferred,  first,  that  God  intended  the  spirits 
for  the  use  of  nran  as  much  as  the  flour,  the  apples,  or  the 
molasses  ; and  that  it  is  just  as  proper  to  separate  the  spi- 
rits by  distillation,  as  it  is  to  obtain  the  flour  by  grinding  and 
bolting.  Secondly,  that  theie  can  be  nothing  injurious  or 
poisonous  in  the  spirits,  any  more  than  in  the  apples,  the 
grain,  or  the  molasses;  the  only  injury,  in  either  case,  re- 
sulting from  using  too  much.  Thirdly,  that  spirits  must  be 
nourishing  to  the  body,  constituting,  as  they  seem  to  do,  the 
very  essence  of  the  fruit,  grain,  and  molasses,  which  are 
confessedly  nutricious. 

Now  these  in-fercnces  are  all  rendered  null  and  void  by 
the  fact  that  ardent  spirits,  or  alcohol,  which  is  their  es- 
sence, do  not  exist  naturally  in  apples,  grain,  or  sugar- 
cane. No  one  ever  perceived  the  odor  or  the  taste  of 
alcohol  in  apples,  or  die  cider  obtained  from  them,  while  it 
was  new  and  sweet ; but  after  it  had  fermented  for  a time, 
by  a due  degree  of  warmth,  the  sweetness  in  a measure 
disappeared,  and  alcohol  was  found  to  be  present.  And  just 
so  in  obtaining  spirits  from  rye,  or  any  other  substance;  a 
sweet  liquor  is  at  first  obtained,  which,  by  fermentation,  is 


211] 


ARGUMENT  AGAINST  ARDENT  SPIRITS. 


3 


found  to  be  partly  converted  into  alcohol.  This  sweetness 
results  from  the  sugar  which  the  substances  naturally  con- 
tain, or  which  is  formed  by  the  process.  This  sugar  is  next 
destroyed,  or  decomposed,  by  the  fermentation,  and  its 
parts  go  to  make  up  a new  substance,  then  first  brought 
into  e.xistence,  called  alcohol.  If  the  fermentation  be  car- 
ried on  still  farther,  another  new  substance  is  produced, 
viz.  vinegar.  Carried  still  farther,  putrid,  unhealthy  ex- 
halations are  the  result,  such  as  we  find  rising  from  swamps 
and  other  places  where  vegetable  matter  is  decaying.  If 
then  we  may  conclude,  because  alcohol  is  obtained  from 
grain  and  other  nutricious  substances,  that  therefore  God 
intended  it  for  the  use  of  man,  the  same  reason  will  show 
that  lie  intended  man  should  breathe  these  poisonous  ex- 
halations.  If  alcohol  cannot  be  poisonous  or  injurious,  be- 
cause derived  from  harmless  and  salutary  substances,  neither 
can  these  exhalations  be  so;  nor,  indeed,  those  more  putrid 
find  deadly  ones  arising  from*the  petrifaction  of  sweet  ani- 
mal food.  And  if  alcohol  must  be  nutricious,  because  ap- 
ples, grain  and  molasses  are  so,  it  follows  that  these  exhala- 
tions are  nutricious. 

Having  thus  explained  the  chemistry  of  this  subject,  I 
would,  secondly,  address  these  men  as  a Physician.  1 mean 
merel}^  that  I wish  to  present  before  them  the  views  of  the 
most  distinguished  and  impartial  physicians  concerning  ar- 
dent spirits.  It  is  important  then  to  remark,  that  physicians 
have  decided  that  alcohol  is  a powerful  poison.  And  how 
do  they  prove  this?  Simply  by  comparing  its  effects  with 
those  of  other  poisons — particularly  the  poisons  derived, 
as  alcohol  is,  from  vegetables — such  as  lienbane,  poison 
hemlock,  prussic  acid,  thorn  apples,  deadly  night  shade, 
foxglove,  poison  sumach,  oil  of  tobacco,  and  the  essence  of 
opium.  These  poisons,  taken  in  different  quantities,  ac- 
cording to  their  strength,  produce  nausea,  dizziness,  exhila- 
ration of  spirits  with  subsequent  debility,  and  even  total 
insensibility,  in  other  cases  delirium  and  death  ; and  alco- 
hol does  the  same.  These  poisons  weaken  the  stomach, 
impair  the  memory  and  all  the  powers  of  the  mind,  and 
sometimes  bring  on  palsy,  apoplexy,  and  other  violent  dis- 
orders ; and  so  does  alcohol.  Do  vou  say  that  ardent  spi- 
rits, as  they  are  commonly  drank,  do  not  produce  these  ef- 
fects except  in  a very  slight  degree?  Neither  do  these  sub- 


4 


ARGUMENT  AGAINST  ARDENT  SPIRITS. 


[212 


stances,  when  much  weakened  by  mixture  with  other  things. 
Even  rum  and  brandy,  of  the  first  proof,  contain  only  about 
fifty  parts  of  alcohol  in  the  hundred  ; and  even  the  high 
mnes,  as  they  are  called,  are  by  no  means  pure  alcohol ; 
yet  less  than  an  ounce  of  proof  spirits,  given  to  a rabbit, 
killed  it  in  less  than  an  hour.  Three  quarters  of  an  ounce 
of  alcohol,  introduced  into  the  stomach  of  a large  and  ro- 
bust dog,  killed  him  in  three  and  a half  hours.  In  larger 
quantities,  as  almost  every  one  knows,  this  same  substance 
has  proved  immediately  fatal  to  men.  Do  you  say  that 
many  drink  spirits  for  y'ears,  and  are  not  destroyed  ? and 
do  you  hence  inquire  how  they  can  be  poisonous  ? So  1 
reply,  not  a few  take  small  quantities  of  other  poisons  every 
day  for  years,  and  continue  alive.  A horse,  indeed,  may 
take  the  eighth  part  of  an  ounce  of  arsenic  every  day,  and 
yet  be  thriving.  But  how  many  are  there,  do  you  suppose, 
who  habitually  drink  ardent  spirits  and  yet  suffer  no  bad 
effects  from  it  I Have  they  no  stomach  complaints,  no 
nervous  maladies,  no  head-aches?  Do  they  live  to  a great 
age  ? Not  one  out  of  a liundred  of  those  who  daily'  drink 
ardent  spirits  escapes  uninjured  ; though  their  sickness  and 
premature  decay,  resulting  from  this  cause,  are  generally 
imputed  to  other  causes — and  as  many  as  this  would  escape 
if  arsenic  were  used,  in  moderate  quantities,  instead  of  spirits. 

Farmers  and  distillers,  whom  I address,  pause  I beseech 
you,  and  meditate  upon  this  fact.  It  is  poison  into  which 
you  convert  your  ry'e  and  apples  ; it  is  poison  which,  under 
the  name  of  whiskqy  and  cider-brandy’,  you  put  into  your 
cellars ; it  is  poison  which  you  draw  out  from  the  brandy 
and  whiskey  casks  for  drink,  and  which  you  offer  your  chil- 
dren and  friends  for  drink;  it  is  poison  which  you  sell  to 
your  neighbors : it  is  producing  the  same  effects  as  other 
poisons  upon  you  and  upon  them ; that  is,  it  is  undermining 
your  constitutions,  and  shortening  your  lives  and  happiness. 
You  would  not  dare  thus  to  manufacture  and  distribute 
among  the  community  calomel  or  arsenic,  if  these  were  in 
use,  leaving  it  to  every  man  to  determine  how  large  doses 
he  should  take.  Yet  it  would  not  be  half  as  dangerous  for 
men  of  all  descriptions  to  deal  out  and  administer  these 
substances  to  themselves  and  others,  for  there  would  be  none 
of  that  bewitching  temptation  to  excess  in  the  case  of  calo- 
mel and  arsenic,  which  attends  ardent  spirits.  But  if  by 


5 


•213]  argument  against  ardent  spirits. 

carelessly  distributing  calomel  or  arsenic  in  society,  you  had 
destroyed  only  one  life,  your  conscience  would  be  exceed- 
ingly burdened  with  the  guilt.  And  who  is  to  bear  the  guilt 
of  destroying  the  thirty  or  forty  thousand  who  are  cut  off 
annually  in  this  country  by  intemperance?  Suppose  the 
distilleries  were  all  to  stop,  how  many  would  then  die  from 
bard  drinking? 

But  if  alcohol  is  poisonous  in  a degree,  yet  it  is  often 
necessary,  you  say.  Physicians  say  not,  except  in  a very 
few  cases  as  a medicine  ; and  even  in  these  cases  it  is  doubt- 
ful whether  they  have  not  other  remedies  as  good  or  better. 
Spirits  are  necessary,  you  say,  to  enable  a man  to  endure 
great  extremes  of  heat,  cold,  fatigue,  and  in  exposure  to 
wet,  and  attendance  upon  the  sick.  If  this  be  correct, 
farmers  will  sometimes  need  them.  But  many  of  the  most 
hard-working  and  thorough  farmers  in  the  land,  have,  within 
a few  years  past,  tried  the  experiment  of  laboring  without 
spirits ; and'  their  unanimous  testimony  is,  that  they  are 
stronger,  healthier,  and  better  able  to  bear  all  extremes  and 
severe  fatigue  without  them.  Have  you  ever  tried  the  same 
experiment  ? Be  persuaded  to  make  the  trial,  at  least  for 
one  year,  before  you  reject  so  much  substantial  testimony. 

If  spirits  are  necessary  for  any  class,  we  should  suppose 
it  would  be  the  West  Indian  slave.  But  “ on  three  conti- 
guous estates,”  says  Dr.  Abbot,  “of  more  than  four  hun- 
dred slaves,  has  been  made,  with  fine  success,  the  experi- 
ment of  a strict  exclusion  of  ardent  spirits  at  all  seasons  of 
the  year.  The  success  has  very  far  exceeded  the  proprie- 
tor’s most  sanguine  hopes.  Peace,  and  quietness,  and  con- 
tentment, reign  among  the  negroes;  creoles  are  reared  in 
much  greater  numbers  than  formerly  ; the  estates  are  in  the 
neatest  and  highest  state  of  cultivation,  and  order  and  dis- 
cipline are  maintained  with  very  little  correction,  and  the 
mildest  means.” 

Sailors  are  another  class  who  must  sometimes  need  spirits, 
if  they  are  needed  in  case  of  great  exposure  to  cold  and 
wet.  But  several  crews  have  attempted  to  winter  in  high 
rioithern  latitudes,  and  those  furnished  with  s])irits  have 
nearly  all  perished,  while  those  not  furnished  with  them 
have  nearly  all  survived.  When  exposed  to  cold  and 
wet,  and  partially  immersed  in  the  sea  for  hours,  those  who 
have  not  used  spirits  have  commonly  outlived  those  who 
drank  tliem.  K 


6 


ARGUMENT  AGAINST  ARDENT  SPIRITS. 


[214 

Soldiers  are  exposed  to  even  more  and  severer  extremes 
and  vicissitudes  than  sailors.  But  Dr.  Jackson,  a most  dis- 
tinguished physician  in  the  British  army,  asserts  that  spirits 
are  decidedly  injuiious  to  soldiers  on  duty,  rendering  them 
less  able  to  endure  labor  and  hardship.  And  a general  of- 
ficer in  the  same  t>rmy  thus  testifies  ; “ But,  above  all,  let 
every  one  who  values  his  health,  avoid  drinking  spirits  when 
heated  ; that  is  adding  fuel  to  the  fire,  and  is  apt  to  pro- 
duce the  most  dangerous  inflammatory  complaints.”  “ IN'ot 
a more  dangerous  error  exists,  than  the  notion  that  the  ha- 
bitual use  of  spirituous  liquors  prevents  the  effects  of  cold. 
On  the  contrary,  the  truth  is,  that  those  who  drink  most 
frequently  of  them  are  soonest  affected  by  severe  w'eather. 
The  daily  use  of  these  liquors  tends  greatly  to  emaciate  and 
waste  the  strength  of  the  body,”  &c. 

The  Roman  soldiers  marched  with  a weight  of  armour 
upon  them  which  a modern  soldier  can  hardly  stand  under  ; 
and  they  conquered  the  world.  Yet  they  drank  nothing 
stronger  than  vinegar  and  W’ater. 

“ I have  worn  out  two  armies  in  two  wars,”  sa3’’s  the  Dr. 
Jackson  mentioned  above,  “ by  the  aids  of  temperance  and 
hard  work,  and  probably  could  wear  out  another  before  my 
period  of  old  age  arrives.  I eat  no  animal  food,  drink  no 
wine  or  malt  liquor,  or  spirits  of  any  kind  ; 1 wear  no  flan- 
nel, and  neither  regard  wind  nor  rain,  heat  nor  cold,  when 
business  is  in  the  way.” 

Those  men  in  Europe  who  are  trained  for  boxing-matches 
would  require  spirits  if  they  were  necessary  for  giving  bodily 
strength  and  health,  since  the  object  of  this  training  is  to 
produce  the  most  perfect  health  and  the  greatest  possible 
strength.  But  ardent  spirits  are  not  used  b^'  them  at  all — 
and  even  wine  is  scarcely  allowed. 

In  protracted  watching  by  the  bed  of  sickness,  food  and 
intervals  of  rest  are  the  only  real  securities  against  disease 
and  weakness.  Spirits  peculiarly  expose  a man  to  receive 
the  disease,  if  it  be  contagious,  and  if  not,  the\"  wear  out 
the  strength  sooner  than  it  would  otherwise  fail. 

The  most  exposed  and  trying  situations  in  life,  then,  need 
not  the  aid  of  ardent  spirits  ; nay,  thet'  are  in  such  cases 
decidedly  injurious.  They  are  not,  therefore,  necessart', 
but  injurious  for  men  in  all  other  situations.  The  distiller 
must,  therefore,  give  up  the  necessity  of  using  them  in  the 
community  as  a reason  for  continuing  their  manufacture. 


215]  ARGUMENT  AGAINST  ARDENT  SPIRITS.  7 

But  spirits,  it  may  be  said,  do  certainly  inspire  a man 
with  much  additional  strength.  Yes:  and  physicians  tell 
us  how.  It  is  by  exciting  the  nervous  system,  and  thus  call- 
ing into  more  vigorous  action  the  strength  that  God  has 
given  the  constitution  to  enable  it  to  resist  heat,  cold,  and 
disease.  If  this  strength  do  not  previously  exist  in  the  sys- 
tem, spirits  can  never  bestow  it ; for  they  do  not  afford  the 
least  nourishment,  as  food  does.  They  merely  call  into  ac- 
tion the  stock  of  strength  which  food  has  already  implanted 
in  the  body.  Hence  the  debility  and  weakness  which  always 
succeed  their  use  when  the  excitement  has  passed  by. 
Hence,  too,  it  follows,  that  spirits  can  never  give  any  addi- 
tional permanent  strength  to  the  body. 

But  this  is  not  all ; for  physicians  infer  from  this  state- 
ment, that  the  use  of  spirits,  even  in  moderate  quantities, 
tends  prematurely  to  exhaust  and  wear  out  the  system.  It 
urges  on  the  powers  of  life  faster  than  health  requires,  and 
thus  wears  them  out  sooner,  by  a useless  waste  of  strength 
and  spirits.  True,  a moderate  drinker  may  not  notice  any 
striking  bad  effects  upon  his  health,  from  this  cause,  for 
many  years  ; nay,  the  excitement  it  produces  may  remove, 
for  the  time  being,  many  uncomfortable  feelings  which  he 
experiences,  and  which  arc  the  early  warnings  that  nature 
gives  him  that  she  is  oppressed,  for  the  secret  poison  is  at 
work  within ; and  if  such  a man  is  attacked  by  a fever,  or 
other  acute  disease,  physicians  know  that  he  is  by  no  means 
as  likely  to  recover  as  the  water  drinker  ; because  the  spi- 
rits have  partially  exhausted  the  secret  strength  of  his  con- 
stitution, all  of  which  is  now  wanted  to  resist  the  disease. 
Let  every  man  who  indulges  in  the  use  of  spirits  ponder 
well  on  the  declaration  of  a Committee  of  one  of  the  most 
enlightened  Medical  Societies  in  our  land.  “ Beyond  com- 
parison greater  is  the  risk  of  life,  undergone  in  nearly  all 
diseases  of  whatever  description,  when  they  occur  in  those 
unfortunate  men  who  ha\  e been  pi-eviously  disordered  by 
these  poisons.”  Such  men,  too,  it  may  be  added,  are  much 
more  liable  to  the  attacks  of  disease  than  those  who  totally 
abstain  from  alcohol.  In  both  these  ways,  therefore,  the 
use  of  spirits,  even  in  the  greatest  moderation,  tends  to 
shorten  life. 

Distillers  of  ardent  spirits  ' I entreat  you  think  seriously 
of  these  things  as  you  tend  the  fires  under  your  boilers. 


AKGUMENT  AGAINST  ARDENT  SPIRITS. 


[216 


Farmers  ! as  you  drive  your  load  of  cider  or  rye  to  the  dis- 
tillery, meditate  upon  them,  I beseech  you.  You  have  here 
tlie  opinions  and  advice  of  the  most  able  and  impartial  phy- 
sicians in  this  country  and  in  Europe.  True,  you  may  find 
here  and  there  one,  of  little  or  no  reputation  and  learning, 
who,  either  because  he  tliinks  it  for  his  interest,  or  is  attach- 
ed to  ardent  spirits  himself,  will  oppose  such  views  of  the 
subject.  But  no  physician  of  distinction  and  good  mo- 
ral character  would  dare,  at  this  day,  to  come  out  pub- 
licly in  opposition  to  the  principles  above  advanced,  sanc- 
tioned as  they  are  by  the  united  testimony  of  science 
and  experience.  O,  shut  not  your  ears  against  tliis  pow-. 
erful  voice. 

In  the  third  place  I would  expostulate  with  these  men  as  a 
friend  to  my  country.  Can  it  be  that  they  are  acquainted 
with  the  extent  of  the  mischiefs  which  our  country  already 
suffers  from  intemperance  1 Do  they  know  that  fifty -six 
millions  of  gallons  of  ardent  spirits  are  annually  consumed 
in  the  United  States,  or  more  than  four  and  an  half  gallons 
to  each  inhabitant ; and  that  about  forty-four  millions  of 
this  quantity  are  prepared  in  the  distilleries  of  our  own 
ountry  ? that  ten  millions  of  gallons  are  distilled  from  mo- 
lasses, and  more  than  nine  million  bushels  of  rye  are  used 
for  this  purpose  ? Do  they  know  that  these  forty-four  mil- 
lions of  gallons,  as  retailed,  must  cost  the  community  not 
less  than  $22,000,000  ; that  they  render  from  two  hundred 
to  three  hundred  thousand  of  our  citizens  intemperate  ; that 
in  consequence  of  this  intemperance  the  country  sustains 
an  annual  loss,  in  the  productive  labor  of  these  drunkards, 
of  not  far  from  $30,000,000 ; and  a loss  of  more  than 
25,000  lives,  from  her  middle  aged  citizens,  who  are  thus 
cut  off  prematurely  ? That  two-thirds  of  the  pauperism 
in  the  country,  costing  from  $6,000,000  to  $6,000,000, 
and  two-thirds  of  the  crime  among  us,  perpetrated  by  an 
army  of  eighty  or  ninet}’^  thousand  wretches,  result  from  the 
same  cause ; and  that  from  forty  to  fifty  thousand  of  the 
cases  of  imprisonment  for  debt  annually,  are  imputed  to  the 
same  cause  ? that  the  pecuniary  losses  proceeding  from  the 
carelessness  and  rashness  of  intemperate  sailors,  servants, 
and  agents,  are  immense  ; and  that  the  degradation  of  mind, 
the  bodily  and  mental  sufferings  of  drunkards  and  their  fa- 
milies. and  the  corruption  of  morals  pnd  manners,  are  alto- 


9 


217]  ARGUMENT  AGAINST  ARDENT  SPIRITS. 

gether  beyond  the  reach  of  calculation  to  estimate,  and  of 
words  to  express.* 

Can  it  be  that  these  men  have  ever  soberly  looked  for- 
ward to  see  what  must  be  the  ultimate  effects,  upon  our 
free  and  beloved  country,  of  this  hydra- headed  evil,  unless 
it  be  arrested  1 Can  tliey  be  aware  that,  judging  by  the 
past  proportion  of  deaths  from  intemperance  in  the  most 
regular  and  moral  parts  of  the  land,  one  third  of  the  six 
million  adults  now  living  will  die  from  the  same  cause? 
Do  they  know  how  the  intemperate  entail  hereditary  dis- 
eases and  a thirst  for  ardent  spirits  upon  their  descendants, 
and  how  rapidl}^  therefore,  the  bodily  vigor  of  our  citi- 
zens is  giving  way  before  their  deadly  influence  ? And  can 
they  doubt  that  vigor  of  mind  will  decay  in  the  same  pro- 
portion? Corruption  of  manners  and  morals  too,  how  ra- 
pidl}'^  it  will  spread  under  the  operation  of  this  poison  1 
Nor  can  religions  principle  stand  long  before  the  overwhelm- 
ing inundation  : and  just  in  the  degree  in  which  alcoholic 
liquors  are  used,  will  the  Sabbath,  and  the  institutions  of  re- 
ligion, and  the  Bible,  be  neglected  and  trodden  under  foot. 
And  when  the  morality,  and  religion,  and  the  conscience  of 
the  majority  of  our  nation  are  gone,  what  but  a miracle  can 
save  our  liberties  from  ruin?  Corrupt  the  majority,  and 
what  security  is  there  in  popular  elections?  Corrupt  the 
majority,  and  you  have  collected  together  the  explosive  ma- 
terials that  need  only  the  touch  of  some  demagogues  torch 
to  scatter  the  fair  temple  of  our  independence  upon  tlie 
winds  of  heaven. 

But  admitting  that  this  picture  is  not  overdrawn,  yet  the 
distiller  and  the  furnisher  of  materials  may  perhaps  say, 
that  all  this  does  not  particularly  concern  them.  The}'  are 
not  intemperate,  they  force  no  man  to  drink,  or  even  to  buy 
their  spirits : nay,  they  generally  refuse  to  sell  to  the  in- 
lemperate.  The  intemperate  are  the  persons  to  whom  these 
expostulations  should  be  addressed.  As  for  the  distiller  and 
the  farmer,  who  manufacture  the  poison,  they  are  following 
a lawful  calling,  and  have  a right  to  the  honest  proceeds  of 
their  business. 

* In  order  to  obtain  the  result  in  this  paragraph,  the  well  established 
estimates  that  have  often  been  made  concerning  tlie  cost  and  evils  of 
ardent  spirits  in  our  country,  have  been  reduced  about  one  fourth  or 
fifth  part,  to  make  allowance  for  the  amount  imported  from  abroad. 


10 


ARGUMENT  AGAINST  ARDENT  SPIRITS. 


[216 

The  principle  then,  which  I understand  you  to  advocate, 
is  this  : that  provided  your  employment  be  not  contrary  to 
the  laws  of  the  state,  you  are  under  no  obligation  to  inquire 
particularly  as  to  its  influence  upon  the  public  happiness 
after  the  products  of  your  labor  get  out  of  your  own  hands. 
If  this  be  a correct  principle  for  your  guidance,  it  is  certain- 
ly a correct  one  for  others.  Let  us  apply  it  to  the  intem- 
perate man. 

I expostulate  with  him  on  the  destructive  influence  of 
his  habits  upon  his  country.  “ But  have  I not  a right,” 
says  he,  “ to  use  my  own  property  in  such  a way  as  1 
choose,  provided  I do  not  violate  the  laws  of  the  land  1 
If  I may  not  employ  a portion  of  my  money  in  purchasing 
spirits,  neither  have  you  a right  to  lay  out  yours  for  a car- 
riage, or  for  painting  your  house,  or  for  any  thing  else 
which  some  of  your  neighbors  may  regtu'd  as  unnecessary. 
I buy  no  more  spirits  than  my  health  and  comfort  require  ; 
and  I have  as  good  a right  to  judge  of  the  quantity,  as  you 
have  in  respect  to  the  needless  articles  of  dress  and  furni- 
ture which  you  procure.” 

I urge  the  man  who  keeps  a licensed  gambling  house  to 
abandon  a pursuit  that  is  ruining  his  country.  “ But  I am 
not  violating  the  laws,”  he  replies,  “nor  compelling  any 
man  to  gamble  and  drink  to  excess  in  my  house.  The 
whole  responsibility,  therefore,  rests  upon  those  who  do  it.” 
Expostulate  with  them.  “ I have  a right  to  my  earnings.” 

You  see  where  this  principle  leads.  Is  it  one  that  a true 
patriot  ought  to  adopt  ? No  : he  alone  is  a true  patriot  who 
is  ready  to  abandon  every  pursuit  that  is  injuring  his  coun- 
try, however  profitable  it  ma}^  be  to  himself,  and  however 
tolerated  by  the  civil  law.  Nor  I would  not  attempt  to  ex- 
tenuate the  guilt  of  the  intemperate  man,  nor  of  the  mer- 
chant who  sells  him  spirits : but  I do  say,  that  if  those 
who  distill,  and  those  who  furnish  the  materials,  were  to 
abandon  the  business  altogether,  it  would  almost  put  an  end 
to  intemperance  in  the  land.  For  only  a-  small  proportion 
of  the  spirits  used  is  imported  ; and  its  price  must  always 
continue  so  high  that  but  few  could  afford  to  be  drunkards 
were  the  domestic  manufacture  to  cease.  You  have  it  in 
your  power,  then,  to  put  a stop  to  this  most  dreadful  national 
evil,  and  thus  to  save  our  liberties  and  all  that  is  dear  to  us 
from  ruin.  Your  fathers  noured  out  their  blood,  like  water. 


219]  ARGUMENT  AGAINST  ARDENT  SPIRITS.  11 

to  purchase  our  independence,  and  to  build  up  a bulwark 
around  our  rights.  But  the  ten  thousand  distilleries  which 
you  ply  are  so  many  fiery  batteries,  pouring  forth  their 
forty-four  million  discharges  every  year,  to  level  that  bul- 
wark in  the  dust.  All  Europe  combined  against  us  in  war 
could  not  do  us  half  as  much  injury  as  your  distilleries  are 
doing  every  year.  Oh,  abandon  them — tear  them  down — 
melt  your  boilers  in  the  furnace — give  your  grain  and  mo- 
lasses to  the  poor,  or  to  the  fowls  of  heaven — make  fuel  of 
your  fruit  trees,  rather  than  destroy  your  country. 

Some  may  say  that  if  they  cease  to  manufacture  spirits 
others  will  take  up  the  business,  and  carry  it  on  as  exten- 
sively as  they  do.  And  since,  therefore,  the  country  will 
gain  nothing  by  their  discontinuance  of  distillation,  they 
may  as  well  have  the  profit  of  it  as  others.  But  what 
course  of  wickedness  will  not  such  reasoning  justify  ? An 
highwayman  robs  you,  or  an  assassin  invades  your  dwelling 
at  midnight  and  slaughters  your  wife  and  children.  Now 
would  you  think  them  justified,  should  they  plead  that  they 
knew  of  others  about  to  commit  the  same  outrages,  and, 
therefore  they  thought  their  commission  of  these  deeds  was 
not  wrong,  since  they  needed  the  avails  of  the  robbery  and 
murder  as  much  as  any  body?  A man  could  pursue  the 
slave  trade  year  after  year  on  this  principle,  with  no  up- 
braidings  of  conscience,  if  he  only  suspected  that  the  busi- 
ness would  be  carried  on  were  he  to  stop.  And  a traitor 
might  sell  his  country  for  gold,  could  he  only  ascertain  that 
some  one  else  was  about  to  do  it,  and  yet  be  exonerated  from 
blame,  if  this  principle  be  proper  to  act  upon.  Oh,  how 
can  any  decent  man  plead  a moment  for  a principle  that 
leads  to  such  monstrous  results  ! 

Some  will  say,  however,  that  they  sell  the  spirits  which 
they  manufacture  only  to  those  whom  they  know  to  be  tem- 
perate, and  therefore  they  are  not  accessary  to  the  intem- 
perance in  the  land;  for  they  are  not  accountable  for  the 
sins  of  those  who  sell  spirits  to  improper  persons. 

You  supply  them  only  to  the  temperate  ! The  greater  the 
blame  and  the  guilt : for  you  are  thus  training  up  a new  set 
of  drunkards  to  take  the  place  of  those  whom  death  will 
soon  remove  out  of  the  way.  Were  you  to  sell  only  to  the 
intemperate,  you  would  do  comparatively  little  injury  to 
the  community.  For  you  would  only  hasten  those  out  of 


12 


ARGUMENT  AGAINST  ARDENT  SPIRITS.  [220 

the  way,  who  are  a nuisance,  and  prevent  the  education  of 
others  to  fill  their  places.  But  let  not  any  man  think  that 
no  blame  attaches  to  himself  because  the  poison  goes  into 
other  hands  before  it  is  administered.  A man  is  to  blame  for 
any  evil  to  his  fellow  men  which  he  could  prevent.  Now,  by 
stopping  all  the  distilleries  in  the  land,  you  could  prevent 
men  from  becoming  drunkards.  The  very  head  and  front 
oi'  the  offending,  therefore,  lies  with  you.  It  is  as  idle  for 
you  to  attempt  to  cast  all  the  guilt  upon  others,  in  this  way, 
as  it  was  for  Pilate,  when  he  ^deavored  to  fix  the  blood  of 
Christ  upon  the  people  by  washing  his  hands  before  them 
and  declaring  himself  innocent,  and  then  going  back  to  his 
judgment  seat  and  passing  sentence  of  death  upon  him. 
Good  man ! He  did  not  touch  a hair  of  the  Savior’s  head. 
It  was  the  cruel  soldiers  who  executed  his  orders,  that,  ac- 
cording to  this  plea,  were  alone  guilty  ! 

Some  distillers  will  probably  say  that  they  cannot  sup- 
})ort  themselves  and  families  if  they  abandon  this  business  : 
and  some  farmers  will  say,  if  we  cannot  sell  our  cider  and 
rye  to  the  distillers,  the  products  of  our  orchards  must  all 
be  lost,  and  rye  is  the  only  article  which  we  can  raise  upon 
our  farms  with  any  profit.  And  if  I were  not  to  purchase 
these  articles,  saj's  the  distiller,  their  price  must  be  so  low 
that  no  farmer  could  afford  to  raise  them.  Thus  to  reduce 
a large  class  of  the  3'eomanry  of  our  countiy — its  very 
sinews — to  poverty,  would  be  a greater  evil  than  even  the 
intemperance  that  is  so  common. 

Is  it  indeed  true  that  in  this  free  and  happy  countiy  an 
industrious,  temperate,  and  economical  man,  cannot  find  any 
employment  by  which  he  can  support  himself  and  family 
in  a comfortable  manner  without  manufacturing  poison  and 
selling  it  to  his  countrymen  I In  other  words,  cannot  he 
live  without  destroying  them  1 Is  land  so  scarce,  or  so 
eaten  up  with  tithes  and  taxes,  that  he  cannot  thence  derive 
subsistence  unless  he  converts  its  products  into  monev  at  the 
expense  of  others’  comfort,  reputation,  and  life  Is  everv 
honest  calling  so  crowded,  or  so  unproductive,  that  eveiw 
avenue  is  closed  1 Have  the  men  who  make  this  plea 
tried,  even  for  a single  year,  to  live  without  the  manufac- 
ture of  spirits'?  It  ma}'  be,  indeed,  that  for  a time  thev 
will  find  other  pursuits  less  productive  than  this.  And  is 
not  this,  after  all  the  true  reason  why  they  shrink  from  the 


221]  ARGUMENT  AGAINST  ARDENT  SPIRITS.  13 

sacrifice  ? But  if  superior  profits  be  a sufficient  reason  for 
continuing  distillation,  it  is  a reason  that  will  justify  the  rob- 
ber, the  thief,  and  every  other  depredator  upon  the  rights  of 
others. 

But  how  does  it  appear  that  the  stoppage  of  all  the  distil- 
leries in  the  land  will  reduce  the  price  of  cider  and  rye? 
Their  operation  has  produced  a great  demand  for  these  ar- 
ticles, and  that  demand  has  thrown  into  the  market  an  im- 
mense supply ; the  consequence  is,  that  the  prices  are  re- 
duced as  low  as  the  articles  can  be  afforded,  at  a veiff  mode- 
rate profit,  and  the  great  complaint  now  among  farmers  is, 
that  they  are  so  low.  Let  the  distilleries  cease  to  exist,  and 
the  special  demand  for  these  articles  will  cease  ; and  conse- 
quently the  market  will  not  be  glutted  with  them,  because 
no  extra  efforts  will  be  made  to  raise  them  : the  result  will 
probably  be,  that  in  a very  short  time  their  price  will  be 
very  nearly  or  quite  as  high  as  it  now  is. 

But  even  if  we  suppose  the  worst,  that  the  distiller  and 
some  farmers  should  be  reduced  to  absolute  beggary  by  the 
cessation  of  this  manufacture ; no  reasonable,  or  patriotic, 
or  Christian  man  can  for  a moment  regard  this  as  a reason 
why  he  should  continue  in  any  business  that  is  productive 
of  immense  mischief  to  his  country.  Is  it  not  better  that 
he  and  his  family  should  come  to  want  than  that  hundreds 
of  thousands  should  be  ruined,  soul  and  bodjq  for  time  and 
eternit3''?  If  he  has  a right  to  derive  his  subsistence  from 
the  ruin  of  others,  then  others,  as  the  thief,  the  swindler, 
and  the  robber,  have  a right  to  obtain  their  subsistence  from 
his  ruin. 

In  the  fourth  place,  I appeal  to  these  men  as  a neighbor  and 
a parent,  and  in  behalf  of  the  drunkard's  wife  and  children. 
When  Providence  cast  our  lot  in  the  same  neighborhood  I 
considered,  and  doubtless  \'ou  thought  the  same,  that  a re- 
gard to  our  mutual  welfare  bound  us  to  do  eveqv  thing  in  our 
power  to  make  the  communitv  in  which  we  lived  intelli- 
gent, virtuous,  and  happj’;  and  to  avoid  every  thing  that 
would  mar  its  peace,  degradje  its  character,  or  stain  its  puri- 
ty. My  complaint  is,  that  by  the  manufacture  of  ardent 
spirits  you  have  violated  these  obligations.  The  facilities 
for  obtaining  spirits,  and  the  temptations  to  their  use  and 
abuse,  have  been  thus  so  multiplied,  and  brought  so  near, 
that  verj'  many  w!io  were  once  kind  neighbors  and  valua- 
Vol.  8.  “ K2 


14 


ARGUMENT  AGAINST  ARDENT  SPIRITS. 


[222 

ble  members  of  society  are  ruined,  or  in  difterent  stages 
of  the  path  to  ruin.  One  has  got  as  far  as  an  occasional 
visit  to  the  grog-shop  and  the  bar-room  : another  is  rarely 
seen  there  ; but  the  wretched  condition  of  his  house,  barn, 
and  farm,  his  impatience  of  confinement  at  home,  and  his 
many  foolish  bargains,  tell  me,  in  language  not  to  be  mis- 
taUen,  that  the  worm  which  is  preying  upon  the  root  of  bis 
prosperity  is  the  worm  of  the  still.  The  frequent  visits  of 
the  Sherill  to  the  house  of  another  neighbor,  whose  family 
is  healrti}’  and  industrious ; his  bitter  complaints  of  the 
hardness  of  the  times ; his  constant  efforts  to  borrow  money 
to  prevent  executions  from  being  levied  ; the  mortgaging  of 
his  farm  to  the  bank  ; his  pimpled  face,  and  bloated  body, 
and  dry  backing  cough,  are  painful  testimonies  of  his  fami- 
liarity with  the  products  of  the  distillery.  It  is  distressing 
to  look  around  upon  our  once  happy  neighborhood,  (did  you 
ever  do  it  1)  and  to  see  what  havoc  your  manufactory  of 
spirits  has  made  upon  the  peace,  property,  reputation,  in- 
telligence, moralit}’ and  good  order  of  the  community.  Ao 
wasting  sickness;  no  foreign  or  domestic  war;  no  prema- 
ture frost ; no  drought,  blasting,  or  mildew  ; nor  any  othei 
visitation  of  God;  no,  not  all  of  them  combined  have  been 
the  tenth  part  as  fatal  to  our  prosperitt'  and  happiness  as 
this  one  self-inllicted  curse.  And  this  curse  we  should  never 
have  felt  bad  not  some  of  you  put  into  operation  your  dis- 
tilleries, and  others  fed  tliem  with  the  products  of  your 
farms : I mean,  such  would  have  been  the  liappy  effect  Had 
the  manufacture  of  spirits  ceased  in  our  land  before  these 
evils  had  followed  : and  I am  now  supposing  that  some  one 
in  every  town  and  neighborhood  throughout  the  land,  whei  e 
there  is  a distillery,  is  addressing  the  same  language  to  those 
who  conduct  it  as  I am  addressing  to  \'ou.  We  make  a 
united  and  earnest  appeal  to  you,  in  view  of  the  ruin  that 
rises  around  us,  that  you  would  stop  the  work  of  destruc- 
tion and  strengthen  the  things  that  remain,  which  arc  ready 
to  die.  You  stand  at  the  fountain  head  of  that  fieri'  stream 
which  is  spreading  volcanic  desolation  over  the  land.  Oh  ! 
shut  up  the  sluices  before  every  verdant  spot  is  buried  be- 
neath the  inundation. 

But  to  come  again  into  our  own  neighborhood  : I have  a 
family  of  beloved  children  growing  up  in  the  vicinity  of 
your  distillery  ; and  when  I recollect  that  every  fortieth 


15 


223]  ARGUMENT  AGAINST  ARDENT  SPIRITS. 

individual  among  us  is  a drunkard,  and  that  about  every  third 
person  above  the  age  of  twenty  dies  prematurely  through 
intemperance,  I cannot  but  feel  a deep  anxiety  lest  my  boys 
should  be  found  at  length  among  the  number.  True,  one 
of  the  earliest  lessons  I teach  them  is  total  abstinence ; 
and  I try  to  excite  in  their  minds  a disgust  toward  every 
species  of  alcoholic  mixture.  But  they  go  to  one  of  my 
neighbors  and  hear  him  telling  of  the  whiskey  and  cider 
brandy  that  have  been  produced  upon  his  farm,  and  they 
see  him  mixing  and  circulating  the  bowl  among  his  laborers, 
his  visiters,  and  even  his  own  children ; and  it  is  offered  al- 
so to  mine,  accompanied  with  some  jeer  against  cold  water 
societies.  They  see  the  huge  accumulations  of  cider  and 
rye  at  the  distillery,  and  mark  the  glee  of  the  men  who  con- 
duct its  operations,  and  of  those  who  come  to  fill  their  bar- 
rel or  keg  with  spirits.  They  go  also  to  the  store  in  the 
vicinity,  and  see  one  after  another  filling  their  jugs  with  the 
same  article.  No\v  these  neighbors  who  thus  distill,  and 
vend,  and  drink  whiskey  and  brandy,  my  children  are  taught 
to  respect ; and  how  is  it  possible  that  the}'  should  not  feel 
that  their  father  is  too  rigid  in  his  requirements,  and  hence 
be  tempted  to  taste,  and  tasting,  to  love,  and  loving,  to  be 
destroyed  by  the  poison.  Oh,  is  there  no  guilt  in  thus 
spreading  a snare  for  my  children  ? Should  they  fall,  will 
none  of  their  blood  be  upon  your  heads  Shall  not  the  en- 
treaties of  a parent  be  felt  by  those  who  are  themselves  pa- 
rents, and  whose  days  may  yet  be  rendered  intolerable  by 
the  cruelty  of  drunken  children  1 

I would  invite  the  manufacturer  of  spirits,  and  the  farmer 
who  supplies  the  materials,  to  go  around  with  me  among  the 
people  in  the  vicinity  of  the  distillery,  that  they  may  have 
some  nearer  views  of  the  miseries  produced  by  their  em- 
ployment. Let  us  stop  for  a moment  at  this  tavern. 

Myself.  You  seem,  landlord,  to  be  quite  full  of  business 
to-day.  What  is  the  occasion? 

Landlord.  Neighbors  X and  Y have  their  case  tried  here 
to-day  before  Esquire  Z ; and  you  know  that  these  matters 
cannot  go  on  well  with  dry  throats. 

Myself  What  is  the  point  in  dispute  between  your 
neighbors  ? 

Landlord.  Something  about  swapping  a horse,  1 believe ; 
but  it  is  my  opinion  that  both  of  them  hardly  knew  wliat 


16 


ARGUMENT  AGAINST  ARDENT  SPIRITS.  [224 

they  were  about,  when  they  made  the  exchange.  It  was 
last  town  meeting  day,  and  I recollect  that  both  of  them 
called  quite  frequently  at  my  bar  that  day.  They  are  none 
of  your  cold  water  folks,  I assure  you. 

Myself.  Are  these  court  days  generally  profitable  to  you, 
landlord? 

Landlord.  Better  even  than  a town  meeting;  for  those 
who  come  on  such  occasions  have  no  qualms  of  conscience 
jbout  drinking,  if  they  have  occasion,  I assure  you.  But 
on  town  meeting  days  some  of  the  pale-faced  temperance 
men  are  always  about  to  frighten  away  honest  people. 

Myself.  Do  not  these  court  occasions  often  lay  the  foun- 
dation for  other  courts  ? 

Landlord.  Oh,  very  frequently  : but  so  much  the  better, 
you  know,  for  my  business  ; and  so  I must  not  complain. 

Let  us  next  call  at  Mr.  A’s,  who  has  so  fine  a farm  and 
orchard,  and  every  means,  one  would  think,  of  indepen- 
dence and  happiness.  But  hark ! there  is  a family  dialogue 
going  on  between  farmer  A,  his  wife,  and  son. 

Son.  What ! boozy  so  early,  mother:  and  father  too,  and 
quarreling  as  usual,  I perceive.  O,  I wish  our  orchard  were 
all  burnt  down,  and  the  distillery  too  ; rather  than  live  in 
such  a bedlam. 

Mother.  But  do  you  not  like  a little  yourself,  son,  when 
eleven  o’clock  comes  ? 

Father.  Aye,  and  at  four,  and  some  bitters  in  the  morning. 
We  are  old  you  must  remember  son,  and  require  more  to 
warm  us  and  support  nature  than  you  do. 

Son.  If  you  would  drink  only  moderately,  as  I do,  I would 
not  complain.  For  I am  not  one  of  your  cold  water  scare- 
crows I assure  you.  But  to  have  you  drink  half  the  time, 
is  v/hat  vexes  me. 

What  a fine  picture  is  here,  my  neighbors,  for  the  men  to 
look  at  who  expect  to  reform  the  world  by  moderate  drink- 
ing, without  adopting  the  principle  of  total  abstinence. 

But  look  at  the  sherifi'  yonder,  pointing  about  neighbor 
B’s  house,  from  which  he  seems  to  be  excluded. 

) Sheriff.  You  are  too  late  gentlemen — all  the  property  is 
attached  for  twice  its  value  Rum,  bad  bargains  and  negli- 
gence, have  done  the  business  with  poor  B.  But  I pity  his 
wife  and  children  most : for  they  have  struggled  hard  to 
prevent  it. 


17 


225]  ARGUMENT  AGAINST  ARDENT  SPIRITS. 

Distiller.  Is  every  thing  gone  ? The  fellow  owed  me 
two  hundred  dollars. 

Myself.  For  whiskey,  I suppose. 

Distiller.  He  was  formerly  a partner  in  my  still,  you  re- 
collect. 

Yonder  comes  from  the  store  the  mechanic,  neighbor  D. 
Well  neighbor  D,  how  do  the  times  go  with  you  now  1 

D.  Was  there  ever  such  a scarcity  of  money.  When 
the  rich  are  failing  all  around,  how  can  a poor  mechanic 
stand  it. 

Myself.  What  have  you,  friend  D,  bound  up  so  carefully 
in  your  handkerchief? 

D.  Aye,  you  belong  to  the  cold  water  society  I believe. 
But  I do  know  that  a little  now  and  then  does  me  good. 

Myself.  I should  suppose  that,  shut  up  as  you  are  in  your 
shop  most  of  the  time,  you  could  not  be  much  exposed  to 
lieat  or  cold,  or  great  fatigue,  and  therefore  would  hardly 
need  spirits. 

D.  Well,  but  I have  a weak  and  cold  stomach,  and  often 
feel  so  faint  and  sick  that  I must  either  take  an  emetic  or  a 
glass  of  spirits.  But  the  latter  cures  all  my  bad  feelings. 

Myself.  Ah,  friend  D,  I fear  the  times  will  prove  too 
hard  for  you.  But  why  do  you  try  to  conceal  your  jug 
when  you  go  to  the  store  for  whiskey  1 

D.  Why — why — it  is  more  convenient  to  carry  it  tied 
up  in  this  way. 

Let  us  stop  next  at  this  skeleton  of  a house,  which  you 
know  used  to  look  so  tidy  before  its  owner  became  intempe- 
rate. Oh,  was  misery  ever  more  perfectly  personified  than 
in  his  wife  and  children,  whom  you  see  through  the  doors 
and  window-frames ! And  there  lies  the  wretch  himself, 
dead  drunk. 

Myself.  Pray,  madam,  do  these  children  attend  school  ? 

Wife.  Ah,  sir,  I am  ashamed  to  say  it,  they  have  not  de- 
cent clothes.  But  it  was  not  always  as  you  see  it  to-day. 
When  we  were  first  married  our  prospects  were  good ; and 
by  industry  and  economy  our  little  farm  supported  us,  and 
we  made  some  headway.  But — [turning  toward  the  farmer) 
yet  I would  not  hurt  any  one’s  feelings. 

Farmer.  Tell  your  story  madam. 

Wife.  Well,  sir,  you  recollect  that  five  years  ago  your 


18 


ARGUMENT  AGAINST  ARDENT  SPIRITS. 


[226 

orchard  produced  abundantly,  and  you  proposed  to  my  hus- 
band to  assist  you  in  making  the  cider,  and  getting  it  to  the 
distillery,  and  to  take  his  pay  in  brandy.  He  did  so,  and 
soon  a barrel  of  the  poison,  which  he  could  not  sell,  was  de- 
posited in  our  cellar.  Oh,  what  a winter  followed  ! 1 have 
known  no  peace  or  comfort  since,  nor  shall  I,  till  I find  them 
in  the  grave.  Were  it  not  for  these  poor  naked  children, 
I could  wish  to  rest  there  soon.  But  oh,  what  will  become 
of  them  ? Oh,  sir,  can  you  think  it  strange  if  all  these 
things  should  come  into  my  mind  every  time  you  and  I sit 
down  together  at  the  same  communion-table  ? 

We  must  not  return  home  without  calling  at  the  next 
miserable  hovel,  where  the  widow  of  a drunkard,  with  half 
a dozen  ragged  squalid  children,  is  dragging  out  a miserable 
existence.  Hark  ! she  is  reading  the  Bible.  Did  you  hear 
that  stifled  groan,  as  she  read  in  that  holy  book  : Be  not  de- 
ceived : neither  fornicators^  nor  idolaters,  nor  drunkards,  shall 
inherit  the  kingdom  of  God. 

Myself.  1 believe  I have  not  seen  you,  madam,  since  the 
death  of  your  husband.  I hope  you  find  support. 

Widow.  Oh,  sir,  resignation  is  easy  if  we  feel  a confidence 
or  even  a feeble  hope,  that  our  friends  who  are  taken  away 
will  escape  the  agonies  of  a second  death.  But  how  can 
we  hope  against  the  express  declarations  of  the  word 
of  God. 

Distiller.  And  yet,  madam,  your  husband  had  many  ex- 
cellent qualities. 

Widow.  And  he  would  still  have  lived  to  bless  me  and  the 
world  by  their  exhibition,  had  it  not  been  for  your  distillery. 

Distiller.  I have  no  idea  of  sitting  in  judgment  upon  our 
departed  friends,  and  sending  them  to  hell  because  they  had 
a few  failings. 

Widow.  Ah,  Sir,  if  my  husband  has  gone  there,  it  was 
your  distillery  that  sent  him.  Before  that  was  built  no  man 
was  more  kind,  temperate,  and  happy.  But  you  persuaded 
him  to  labor  there,  and  paid  him  in  whiskey,  and  it  ruined 
him,  and  ruined  us  all.  Look  at  me — look  at  these  children, 
without  food,  without  raiment,  without  fire,  without  friends, 
except  their  Friend  in  heaven.  I do  not  ask  t’ou  to  bestow 
upon  us  any  articles  for  the  supply  of  our  temporal  neces- 
sities ; but  look  at  us,  and  be  entreated  to  tear  down  youi 


227]  ARGUMENT  AGAINST  ARDENT  SPIRITS.  19 

distillery,  so  that  you  may  not  multiply  upon  you  the  exe- 
crations of  the  widow  and  the  orphan,  wrung  from  them  by 
the  extremity  of  their  sufferings. 

Gentlemen,  let  me  exhort  you  to  take  such  a tour  of  ob- 
servation as  tins  once  a month.  Oh,  I entreat  every  one 
in  the  land,  who  has  any  concern  in  the  manufacture  of  ar- 
dent spirits,  to  do  the  same ; and  ere  long,  I am  persuaded, 
you  would  either  abandon  every  claim  to  humanity,  or 
abandon  for  ever  your  pernicious  employment. 

la  the  fifth  place  I advise  and  forewarn  these  men  as  their 
personal  friend.  If  you  distill  ardent  spirits,  or  furnish  the 
materials,  you  must  use  them  yourselves  and  allow  of  their 
use  in  your  families  ; otherwise  your  inconsistency,  not  to 
say  dishonesty,  would  subject  you  to  universal  contempt. 
Now,  to  have  your  children  familiar  with  the  sling,  the  toddy, 
and  the  flip,  as  they  grow  up  ! Is  here  no  danger  that  the 
temptation  will  prove  too  strong  for  them  } Can  a man  take 
fire  in  his  bosom  and  his  clothes  not  be  burned  ? Can  one  go 
upon  hot  coals  and  his  feet  not  be  burned!  And  what  com- 
pensation for  the  intemperance  of  a wife,  or  a child,  would 
be  the  highest  profits  of  an  orchard,  a field  of  rye,  or  a dis- 
tillery ? Oh,  to  be  a drunkard  is  to  destro}"  the  soul  as  well 
as  the  body  : and  what  shall  a man  give  in  exchange  for  his 
soul  ? And  are  you  yourselves  in  no  danger  of  intempe- 
rance, plied  as  you  are  by  so  many  allurements } Look 
around  you  and  see  how  many  strong  men,  how  many  of 
the  wise,  the  moral,  the  amiable,  and  the  apparently  pious, 
have  fallen  before  the  fascinations  of  this  prince  of  ser- 
pents. And  are  you  safe  who  stand  even  within  the  reach 
of  his  forky  tongue,  and  lay  the  bait  for  his  victims,  and 
lure  them  into  his  jaws  by  tasting  of  it  yourselves  ? Oh,  the 
history  of  distillers  and  temperate  drinkers,  in  their  last 
days,  furnishes  an  awful  warning  for  you. 

But  there  is  another  danger  before  you,  of  which,  as  a 
faithful  friend,  I wish  to  forewarn  you.  I see  a dark  storm 
gathering  over  your  heads.  You  cannot  be  ignorant  of  the 
mighty  movement  that  is  making  in  our  land  on  the  subject 
of  temperance.  You  must  have  felt  the  heavy  concussion, 
and  heard  the  rolling  thunder.  The  religious,  the  moral, 
the  patriotic,  the  learned  and  tlie  ivise,  as  intemperance 
nas  been  developing  its  huge  and  hateful  features  more  and 


20 


ARGUMENT  AGAINST  ARDENT  SPIRITS 


[228 


more,  have  been  aroused  to  effort ; they  have  closed  to- 
gether in  a firm  phalanx  ; and  as  they  move  on  with  the 
standard  of  total  abstinence  waving  before  them,  the 
great,  and  the  good,  and  the  valiant  of  every  name,  are 
swelling  their  ranks.  The  cry  is  waxing  louder  and  louder, 

“ Where  are  the  strong  holds  of  the  monster ; point  out  to 
us  the  fountains  that  supply  his  insatiable  thirst,  and  who  it 
is  that  feeds  them  ; and  who  it  is  that  opens  the  enormous 
flood-gates  1 and  thither  we  will  march,  and  against  such 
men  will  we  point  our  heaviest  artillery.”  And  to  this  cry 
there  is  an  answer  more  and  more  distinctly  breaking  out ; 
“ To  the  distilleries — to  the  distilleries.”  My  friends,  wait 
not  till  this  storm  of  public  indignation  bursts  upon  you,  nor 
fancy  that  you  can  face  it.  Oh,  no  ! it  will  be  a steady, 
fiery  blast,  that  will  bear  you  down  ; and  you  will  find  that 
none  but  the  dregs  of  the  community  will  be  left  with  you 
to  sustain  you.  You  will  be  left  with  the  drunkards,  to  be 
distinguished  from  them  only  as  their  abettors  and  support- 
ers ; and  from  you  will  every  virtuous  and  patriotic  man 
turn  away  in  disgust,  as  enemies  to  himself,  his  children, 
and  his  country.  Think  not  that  all  this  is  imagination: 
look  up  and  you  will  see  the  cloud  blackening,  and  the 
lightning  beginning  to  play,  and  hear  the  thunder  roaring. 
But  it  is  not  yet  too  late  to  escape  from  the  fury  of  the  storm. 

Finally,  I would  entreat  these  men  as  a Christian.  Some 
of  them  profess  a personal  and  experimental  knowledge  of 
vital  Christianity,  and  are  members  of  the  visible  church. 
What ! can  it  be  that  a real  Christian  should,  at  this  day, 
be  concerned  in  the  manufacture  of  ardent  spirits  for  general 
use  ? When  I think  of  the  light  that  now  illuminates  every 
man’s  path  on  this  subject  so  clearly,  and  think  how  the  hor- 
rors of  intemperance  must  flash  in  his  face  at  every  step,  I 
confess  I feel  disposed  indignantly  to  reply — no — this  man 
cannot  be  a Christian.  But  then  I recollect  David,  the 
adulterer ; Peter,  the  denier  of  his  master,  profaneh"  curs- 
ing and  swearing;  and  John  Newton,  a genuine  convert  to 
Christianity,  yet  for  a long  time  violating  every  dictate  of 
conscience  and  of  right ; and  I check  my  hasty  judgement, 
and  leave  the  secret  character  of  the  manufacturer  of  ardent 
spirits  to  a higher  and  more  impartial  tribunal.  But  if  such 
a man  be  really  a Christian,  that  is,  if  he  doreall}'  love  God 
supremely  and  his  neighbor  as  himself,  in  what  a state  of 


229]  ARGUMENT  AGAINST  ARDENT  SPIRITS.  21 

awful  alienation  and  stupidity  must  he  be  living  ! Remaining 
in  such  a state,  that  is,  while  persevering  in  so  unchristian 
an  employment,  he  can  certainly  have  no  evidence  himself, 
nor  afford  any  evidence  to  others,  of  possessing  a Christian 
character. 

I would  not  apply  these  remarks  in  their  unqualified  se- 
verity to  every  professor  of  religion  who  supplies  the  dis- 
tillery with  materials,  or  who  vends  or  uses  wine  or  ardent 
spirits;  for  we  shall  find  some  of  this  description  who  real- 
ly suppose  that,  instead  of  being  condemned  for  such  con- 
duct in  the  Bible,  they  are  rather  supported  by  some  parts 
of  it : they  not  only  find  Christ  converting  water  into 
wine  at  a marriage,  and  Paul  directing  Timothy  to  use  a lit- 
tle wine  for  his  health,  but  that,  in  one  case,  the  Jews  had 
liberty  to  convert  a certain  tithe  into  money,  and  bring  it 
to  Jerusalem,  and  bestow  it  for  what  their  soul  lusted  after, 
for  oxen,  or  for  sheep,  or  for  wine,  or  strong  drink,  and  they 
were  to  eat  there  before  the  Lord  their  God,  and  rejoice, 
they  and  their  household.  Deut.  14 : 26.  But  before  any 
one  settles  down  into  a conclusion  that  this  passage  war- 
rants the  use  of  wine  and  ardent  spirits,  in  our  age  and  coun- 
try, let  him  consider  that  there  may  have  been,  as  there 
doubtless  were,  peculiar  reasons,  under  the  Levitical  dispen- 
sation, for  permitting  the  Jews  to  partake  of  what  their  soul 
desired,  before  the  Lord,  which  would  not  apply  to  mankind 
generally  ; as  was  the  case  in  respect  to  several  othei 
things.  But  not  to  urge  this  point,  I would  say  further,  that 
the  fact  that  Judea  was  a wine  country,  that  is,  a country 
where  the  grape  for  the  manufacture  of  wine  was  easily 
and  abundantly  raised,  puts  a different  aspect  upon  this  per- 
mission. In  our  country  the  apple  takes  the  place  of  the 
grape,  and  our  cider  is  almost  precisely  equivalent  to  the 
wine  of  Judea : because  there  the  apple  does  not  flourish, 
and  here  the  grape  cannot  be  extensively  cultivated.  To 
use  wine  in  wine  countries,  therefore,  is  essentially  the  same 
thing  as  to  use  cider  in  cider  countries:  and  it  does  not  ap- 
pear that  the  one,  in  such  cases,  is  much  more  productive 
of  intemperance  than  the  other.  The  fact  is,  the  wines  used 
in  countries  where  they  are  manufactured,  contain  but  little 
more  than  half  as  much  alcohol  as  most  of  the  wine  sold  in 
this  country,  where,  as  a very  respectable  authority  states, 
“ for  every  gallon  of  pure  wine  which  is  sold  there  is  per- 


22  ARGUMENT  AGAINST  ARDENT  SPIRITS.  [230 

haps  a pipe  or  fifty  times  the  quantity  of  that  which  is  adul- 
terated, and  in  various  manners  sophisticated — the  whole 
without  exception,  the  source  of  a thousand  disorders,  and 
in  many  instances  an  active  poison,  imperfectly  disguised.’’ 

But  after  all,  I am  not  obliged  in  this  place  to  prove  that 
God  has  forbidden  the  use  of  wine,  though  Jed  into  this  di- 
gression from  the  desire  to  correct  a general  misapprelien- 
sion  of  the  Scriptures  on  this  subject:  for  the  inquiry  now 
relates  to  ardent  spirits.  And  what  shall  we  say  concerning 
the  permission,  above  pointed  out,  for  the  Jews  to  use 
strong  drink  ? I say  it  was  merely  a permission  to  use  wine  : 
for  the  strong  drink  several  times  mentioned  in  the  Bible 
was  in  fact  nothing  more  than  a particular  kind  of  wine,  made 
of  dates  and  various  sorts  of  seeds  and  roots,  and  called 
strong  drink,  merely  to  distinguish  it  from  the  wine  made  from 
grapes.  Nor  is  there  any  evidence  that  it  was  in  fact  any 
stronger,  in  its  intoxicating  qualities  than  common  wine. 
The  truth  is,  ardent  spirits  were  not  known  until  many  cen- 
turies after  Christ : not  until  the  art  of  distillation  was  dis- 
covered, which  was  not  certainly  earlier  than  the  dark  ages. 
Not  a word,  therefore,  is  said  in  the  Bible  concerning  ardent 
spirits.  All  its  powerful  descriptions  of  drunkenness,  and 
awful  denunciations  against  it,  w’ere  founded  upon  the  abuse 
men  made  of  wine.  How  much  louder  its  notes  of  remon- 
strance and  terror  would  have  risen,  had  distillation  thus 
early  taught  men  how  to  concentrate  the  poison,  may  be 
imagined  by  the  reader. 

After  these  statements,  I trust  none  of  those  whom  I ad- 
dress will  any  longer  resort  to  the  Bible  for  proofs  of  a 
divine  permission  to  manufacture  or  use  ardent  spirits. 
But  do  the  principles  of  the  Bible  condemn  such  use  and 
manufacture  ? 

What  do  you  think  of  the  golden  rule  of  doing  unto  others 
as  we  would  they  should  do  unto  us?  Should  you  suppose 
your  neighbors  were  conducting  tow’ard  you  according  to  this 
rule  were  they  unnecessarily  to  pursue  such  a business,  or 
to  set  such  an  example,  as  would  inevitabl)'  lead  any  of  your 
children  or  friends  into  confirmed  drunkenness?  If  not,  then 
how  can  you,  consistently  with  this  rule,  distill,  use,  or  furnish 
materials  for  the  manufacture  of  ardent  spirits,  when  you 
thereby,  directly  or  indirectly,  render  intemperate  from  two 
hundred  thousand  to  three  hundred  thousand  of  your  fellow 


231]  ARGUMENT  AGAINST  ARDENT  SPIRITS.  23 

citizens,  and  every  year  also,  raise  up  new  recruits  enough 
to  supply  the  dreadful  ravages  which  death  makes  in  this 
army?  This  you  are  certainly  doing:  for  were  your  dis- 
tilleries to  stop,  and  you  to  stop  drinking,  few  would  become 
drunkards,  from  want  of  the  means. 

How  would  you  like  to  have  your  neighbors  one  after 
another  break  down  your  fences,  and  turn  their  cattle  into 
your  corn-fields,  cut  down  your  fruit  and  ornamental  trees, 
set  your  house  or  barn  on  fire,  and  threaten  you  with  po- 
verty and  slavery?  If  you  would  not  have  your  neighbor  do 
thus  to  you,  provided  he  had  the  power,  then  how  can  you, 
by  preparing  the  food  for  intemperance,  subject  the  proper- 
ty, the  peace,  the  morality,  the  religion,  and  the  liberties  of 
your  country  to  those  dangers  and  fearful  depredations  which 
you  are  now  inflicting  upon  her? 

How  would  you  like  to  have  your  neighbors  directly  or 
indirectly,  but  unnecessarily,  cause  the  premature  death  of 
every  fortieth  of  your  children  and  friends,  and  of  one  in 
three  of  those  above  the  age  of  twenty  ? I know  you  would 
not  that  they  should  do  thus  to  you,  and  yet  your  manufac- 
ture of  spirits  causes  the  premature  death  of^^^five  hundred 
of  your  fellow  citizens  every  week:  in  other  words,  about 
that  number  die  every  week  through  the  intemperance  pro- 
duced by  your  distilleries. 

Again  : 1 ask  the  men  whom  I am  addressing  how  they 
reconcile  their  manufacture  and  sale  of  spirits  with  another 
command  of  the  Bible?  Woe  unto  him  that  giveth  his  neigh- 
bor drink,  that  puttest  thy  bottle  to  him,  and  makest  him  drunk- 
en also,  that  thou  mayest  look  on  their  nakedness.  True, 
this  applies  most  emphatically  to  the  retailer  of  spirits;  but 
what  could  the  retailer  do  if  there  were  no  distillery ; and 
what  could  the  distiller  do  if  the  farmer  withheld  the  ma- 
terials ? All  these  men  are  engaged,  directly  or  indirectly, 
in  giving  their  neighbors  drink ; and  though  it  may  pass 
through  many  hands  before,  it  reaches  all  their  mouths,  yet 
where  must  the  burden  of  the  guilt  rest,  if  not  upon  those 
who  stand  at  the  head  of  the  series,  and  first  convert  the  ar- 
ticles, which  God  has  given  to  nourish  and  sustain  life,  into 
active  poison  for  its  destruction;  and  then,  for  the  sake  of  a 
paltry  pecuniary  profit,  send  it  round  amongst  their  neigh- 
bors, accompanied  with  all  the  plagues  that  issued  from  the 
fabled  Pandora’s  box } 


7* 


24 


ARGUMENT  AGAINST  ARDENT  SPIRITS. 


[232 


Finally,  let  me  ask  these  men  how  the  business  of  pre- 
paring ardent  spirits  for  the  community  appears  to  them 
when  they  think  most  seriously  of  another  world?  In  the 
hours  of  sober  reflection,  on  the  Sabbath,  during  sea- 
sons of  devotion,  when  sickness  overtakes  you,  and  death 
seems  near,  or  you  stand  by  the  dying  bed  of  some  one  of 
your  family  or  neighbors ; at  such  seasons  can  you  look 
back  upon  this  pursuit  with  pleasure  ? If  conscience  then 
tells  you  that  this  business  ought  to  be  given  up,  oh  remem- 
ber, that  conscience  is  an  honest  and  faithful  friend  at  such 
times,  and  that,  as  this  pursuit  then  appears  to  you,  so  will 
it  appear  whfn  you  come  actually  to  die.  Test  this  busi- 
ness, I beseech  you,  by  bringing  it  in  imagination  to  the 
scrutiny  of  your  dying  hour.  Whether  it  be  lawful  or  un- 
lawful, certain  it  is  that  it  sends  five  hundred  drunkards  in- 
to eternity  every  week  ; and  you  have  the  express  testi- 
mony of  the  Bible,  that  no  drunkard  shall  inherit  the  king- 
dom of  God.  As  the  Bible  is  true,  then,  are  not  the  manu- 
facturers of  ardent  spirits  in  our  land  the  means  of  sending 
five  hundred  souls  to  hell  every  week ! Tell  me,  my  friends, 
how  will  this  awful  truth  appear  to  you  on  the  bed  of  death? 
And  how  does  it  appear  when  you  look  forward  to  the  final 
judgment,  and  realize  that  you  must  meet  there  fifty  or  an 
hundred,  or  five  hundred  times  five  hundred  drunkards, 
made  such  through  your  instrumentality,  for  one,  or  two, 
or  ten  years,  and  must  there  justify  yourselves  for  this  in- 
strumentality, or  go  away  with  them  into  perdition,  covered 
with  their  blood  and  followed  by  their  execrations  ! 

Oh,  my  friends,  these  are  realities;  and  they  are  near. 
Do  you  begin  to  doubt  whether  you  are  in  the  path  of  dut\'? 
Listen,  I beseech  you,  to  the  first  whispers  of  the  faithful 
monitor  in  your  bosom. 

By  the  reasonings  of  philosophy  ; by  the  testimony  of 
physicians ; by  the  expostulations  of  j'our  bleeding  country ; 
by  the  tears,  the  rags,  and  the  wretchedness  of  three  hun- 
dred thousand  drunkards,  with  their  wiv'es  and  children  ; by 
the  warnings  of  personal  friendship ; and  by  the  sanctions 
of  the  divine  law,  the  solemnities  of  death  and  the  judg- 
ment, and  the  groans  of  ten  thousand  drunkards,  rising  from 
the  pit,  I entreat  you,  abandon  at  once  and  for  ever,  this 
most  unrighteous  employment ; and  save  yourselves  from 
the  eternal  agonies  of  conscience,  the  execrations  of  mil- 
lions, and  the  wrath  of  Omnipotence. 


ISO.  244. 


ADDRESS 


TO  THE 

YOVISG  OF  THE  UNITED  STATESp 

ON 

TEMPEHAl^CE. 


\VRITTEN  BY  REV.  C.  P.  m’ILVAINE,  D.  D.  IN  BEHALF  OF  THE 
NEW-YORK  YOUNG  MEn’s  TEMPERANCE  SOCIETY. 


In  addressing  the  Young  Men  of  the  United  States  in 
regard  to  the  great  enterprise  of  promoting  the  universal 
prevalence  of  Temperance,  we  are  not  aware  that  any  time 
need  be  occupied  in  apology.  Our  motives  cannot  be  mis- 
taken. The  magnitude  of  the  cause,  and  the  importance 
of  that  co-operation  in  its  behalf  which  this  address  is  de- 
signed to  promote,  will  vindicate  the  propriety  of  its  re- 
spectful call  upon  the  attention  of  those  by  whom  it  shall 
ever  be  received. 

It  is  presumed  that  every  reader  is  already  aware  of  the 
extensive  and  energetic  movements  at  present  advancing  in 
our  country  in  behalf  of  Temperance.  That  an  unprece- 
dented interest  in  this  work  has  been  recently  excited,  and 
is  still  rapidly  strengthening  in  thousands  of  districts  ; that 
talent,  wisdom,  experience,  learning,  and  influence  are  now 
enlisted  in  its  service,  with  a measure  of  zeal  and  harmony 
far  surpassing  what  was  ever  witnessed  before  in  such  a 
cause  ; that  great  things  have  already  been  accomplished  ; 
that  much  greater  are  near  at  hand;  and  that  the  whole 
victory  will  be  eventually  won,  if  the  temperate  portion  of 
society  are  not  wanting  to  their  solemn  duty,  must  have 
deen  seen  already  by  those  living  along  the  main  channels 

Yob  8,  I, 


2 


ADDRESS  TO  THE  YOUNG  MEN  OF 


[238 


of  public  thought  and  feeling.  Elevated,  as  we  now  are, 
upon  a high  tide  of  general  interest  and  zeal ; a tide  which 
may  either  go  on  increasing  its  flood  till  it  has  washed  clean 
the  very  mountain  tops,  and  drowned  intemperance  in  its 
last  den  ; or  else  subside,  and  leave  the  land  infected  with 
a plague,  the  more  malignant  and  incurable  from  the  dead 
remains  of  a partial  inundation ; it  has  become  a question 
of  universal  application,  which  those  who  are  now  at  the 
outset  of  their  influence  in  society  should  especially  con- 
sider, “What  can  we  do,  and  what  ought  we  to  do  in  this 
cause?”  For  the  settlement  of  this  question  we  invite  you 
to  a brief  view  of  the  whole  ground  on  which  temperance 
measures  are  now  proceeding. 

It  cannot  be  denied  that  our  country  is  most  horribly 
scourged  by  intemperance.  In  the  strong  language  of 
Scripture,  it  groaneth  and  travaileth  in  pain,  to  be  delivered 
from  the  bondage  of  this  corruption.  Our  country  is  free  ! 
with  a great  price  obtained  we  this  freedom.  We  feel  as  if 
all  the  force  of  Europe  could  not  get  it  from  our  embrace. 
Our  shores  would  shake  into  the  depth  of  the  sea  the  in- 
vader who  should  presume  to  seek  it.  One  solitary  citi- 
zen— led  away  into  captivity — scourged — chained  by  a 
foreign  enemy,  would  rouse  the  oldest  nerve  in  the  land  to 
indignant  complaint,  and  league  the  whole  nation  in  loud 
demand  for  redress.  And  yet  it  cannot  be  denied  {hat  our 
country  is  enslaved.  Yes,  we  are  groaning  under  a most 
desolating  bondage.  The  land  is  trodden  down  under  its 
polluting  foot.  Our  families  are  continually  dishonored, 
ravaged,  and  bereaved;  thousands  annually  slain,  and  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  carried  away  into  a loathsome  slavery, 
to  be  ground  to  powder  under  its  burdens,  or  broken  upon 
the  wheel  of  its  tortures.  Wiiat  are  the  statistics  of  this  traf- 
fic? Ask  the  records  of  mad-houses,  and  they  will  answer, 
that  one-third  of  all  their  wretched  inmates  were  sent  there 
by  Intemperance.  Ask  the  keepers  of  our  prisons,  and 
they  will  testify  that,  with  scarcely  an  exception,  their  hor- 
rible population  is  from  the  schools  of  Intemperance.  Ask 
the  history  of  the  200,000  paupers  now  burdening  the 
hands  of  public  charity,  and  you  will  find  that  two-thirds 
of  them  have  been  the  victims,  directly  or  indirectly-,  of 


3 


239]  THE  UNITED  STATES,  ON  TEMPEHANCE. 

Intemperance.  Inquire  at  the  gates  of  deatli,  and  you 
will  learn  that  no  less  than  30,000  souls  are  annually  passed 
for  the  judgment-bar  of  God,  driven  there  by  Intemperance. 
How  many  slaves  are  at  present  among  us  I We  ask  not 
of  slaves  to  man,  but  to  Intemperance,  in  comparison  with 
whose  bondage  the  yoke  of  the  tyrant  is  freedom.  They 
are  estimated  at  480,000  ! And  what  does  the  nation  pay 
for  the  honor  and  happiness  of  this  whole  system  of  ruin  1 
Five  times  as  much,  every  year,  as  for  the  annual  support  of 
its  whole  system  of  government.  These  are  truths — so  often 
published — so  widely  sanctioned — so  generally  received, 
and  so  little  doubted,  that  we  need  not  detail  the  particulars 
by  which  they  are  made  out.  What  then  is  the  whole 
amount  of  guilt  and  of  wo  which  they  exhibit?  Ask  Him 
“ itnto  whom  all  hearts  are  open,  all  desires  known,  and  from 
whom  no  secrets  are  hid."  Ask  Eternity ! 

The  biographer  of  Napoleon,  speaking  of  the  loss  sus- 
tained by  England  on  the  field  of  Waterloo,  says:  “Fif- 
teen thousand  men  killed  and  wounded,  threw  half  Britain 
into  mourning.  It  required  all  the  glory  and  all  the  solid 
advantages  of  that  day  to  reconcile  the  mind  to  the  high 
price  at  which  it  was  purchased.”  But  what  mourning  would 
fill  all  Britain  if  every  year  should  behold  another  Water- 
loo? But  what  does  every  year  repeat  in  our  peaceful 
land  ? Ours  is  a carnage  not  exhibited  only  once  in  a single 
field,  but  going  on  continually,  in  every  town  and  hamlet. 
Every  eye  sees  its  woes,  every  ear  catches  its  groans.  The 
wounded  are  too  numerous  to  count.  Who  is  not  wounded 
by  the  intemperance  of  this  nation  ? But  of  the  dead,  we 
count,  year  by  year,  more  than  double  the  number  that 
filled  half  Britain  with  mourning.  Ah  ! could  we  behold 
the  many  thousands  whom  our  destroyer  annually  delivers 
over  unto  death,  collected  together  upon  one  field  of  slaugh- 
ter, for  one  funeral,  and  one  deep  and  wide  burial-place; 
could  we  behold  a full  assemblage  of  all  the  parents,  wi- 
dows, children,  friends,  whose  hearts  have  been  torn  bj'  their 
death,  surrounding  that  awful  grave,  and  loading  the  winds 
with  tales  of  wo,  the  whole  land  would  cry  out  at  the  spec- 
tacle. It  would  require  something  more  than  “ all  the 
glory,"  and  “ all  the  solid  advantages"  of  Intemperance, 


4 


ADDRESS  TO  THE  YOUNG  MEN  OF 


[240 


“ to  reconcile  the  mind  to  the  high  price  at  which  they  were 
purchased.’’’' 

But  enough  is  known  of  the  intemperance  of  this  coun- 
try to  render  it  undeniable  by  the  most  ignorant  inhabitant, 
that  a horrible  scourge  is  indeed  upon  us. 

Another  assertion  is  equally  unquestionable.  The  time 
has  come  when  a great  effort  must  be  made  to  exterminate  this 
unequalled  destroyer.  It  was  high  time  this  was  done  when 
the  first  drunkard  entered  eternity  to  receive  the  award  of 
Him  who  has  declared  that  no  drunkard  shall  enter  the 
kingdom  of  God.  The  demand  for  this  effort  has  been 
growing  in  the  peremptory  tone  of  its  call,  as  “ the  over- 
flowing scourge”  has  passed  with  constantly  extending  sweep 
through  the  land.  But  a strange  apathy  has  prevailed  among 
us.  As  if  the  whole  nation  had  been  drinking  the  cup  of 
delusion,  we  saw  the  enemy  coming’ in  like  a flood,  and  we 
lifted  up  scarcely  a straw  against  him.  As  if  the  magicians 
of  Egypt  had  prevailed  over  us  by  their  enchantments,  we 
beheld  our  waters  of  refreshment  turned  into  blood,  and  a 
destroying  sword  passing  through  till  “ there  was  a great 
cry”  in  the  land,  for  there  was  scarcely  “ a house  where 
there  was  not  one  dead  and  still  our  hearts  were  harden- 
ed, and  we  would  not  let  go  the  great  sin  for  which  these 
plagues  were  brought  upon  us.  It  seems  as  if  some  foul 
demon  had  taken  his  seat  upon  the  breast  of  the  nation, 
and  was  holding  us  down  with  the  dead  weight  of  a horrid 
nightmare,  while  he  laughed  at  our  calamity,  and  mocked 
at  our  fear — when  our  fear  came  .as  desolation,  and  our 
destruction  as  a whirlwind.  Shall  this  state  continue  1 Is 
not  the  desolation  advancing?  Have  not  facilities  of  in- 
temperance— temptations  to  intemperance — examples  to 
sanction  intemperance,  been  fast  increasing  ever  since  this 
plague  began  ? Without  some  effectual  effort,  is  it  not 
certain  they  will  continue  to  increase,  till  intemperate  men 
and  their  abettors  will  form  the  public  opinion  and  conse- 
quently the  public  conscience  and  the  public  law  of  this 
land — till  intemperance  shall  become  like  Leviathan  of  old, 
“ king  over  all  the  children  of  pride,”  whose  breath  kin- 
dleth  coals,  and  a “ flame  goeth  out  of  his  mouth  ?”  Then 


5 


241]  THE  UNITED  STATES,  ON  TEMPERANCE. 

what  will  effort  of  man  avail  ? “ Canst  thou  draw  out  Le- 
viathan with  a hook  ? His  heart  is  as  firm  as  a stone,  yea, 
as  hard  as  a piece  of  the  nether  millstone  ; he  drinketh  up 
a river,  and  hasteth  not.  When  he  raiseth  up  himself  the 
mighty  are  afraid.” 

It  is  too  late  to  put  off  any  longer  the  effort  for  deliver- 
ance. It  is  granted  by  the  common  sense,  and  urged  by 
the  common  interest ; every  feeling  of  humanity  and  every 
consideration  of  religion  enforces  the  belief  that  the  time 
has  come  when  a great  onset  is  imperiously  demanded  to 
drive  out  intemperance  from  the  land. 

This,  to  be  great,  must  he  universal.  The  whole  coun- 
try is  enslaved;  and  the  whole  country  must  rise  up  at 
once,  like  an  armed  man,  and  determine  to  be  free.  Of 
what  lasting  avail  would  it  be  for  one  section  of  territory, 
here  and  there,  to  clear  itself,  while  the  surrounding  re- 
gions should  remain  under  the  curse  1 The  temperance  re- 
formation has  no  quarantine  to  fence  out  the  infected. 
Geographical  boundaries  are  no  barriers  against  contagion. 
Rivers  and  mountains  are  easily  crossed  by  corrupting  ex- 
ample. Ardent  spirits,  like  all  other  fluids,  perpetually 
seek  their  level.  In  vain  does  the  farmer  eradicate  from 
his  fields  the  last  vestige  of  the  noisome  thistle,  while  the 
neighboring  grounds  are  given  up  to  its  dominion,  and 
every  wind  scatters  the  seed  where  it  listeth.  The  effort 
against  intemperance,  to  be  effective,  must  be  universal. 

Here,  then,  are  three  important  points  which  we  may 
safely  assume  as  entirely  unquestionable  : — that  our  coun- 
try is  horribly  scourged  by  Intemperance;  that  the  time  has 
come  when  a great  effort  is  demanded  for  the  expulsion  of 
this  evil;  and  that  no  effort  can  be  effectual  without  being  uni- 
versal. Hence  is  deduced,  undeniably,  the  conclusion  that 
it  is  the  duty,  and  the  solemn  duty  of  the  people  in  every 
part  of  this  country,  to  rise  up  at  once,  and  act  vigorously 
and  unitedly  in  the  furtherance  of  whatever  measures  are 
best  calculated  to  promote  reformation. 

Here  the  question  occurs ; what  can  be  done  1 How  can 


6 


ADDRESS  TO  THE  YOUNG  MEN  OP 


[242 


this  wo  he  arrested  1 The  answer  is  plain.  Nothing  can 
be  done,  but  in  one  of  the  three  following  ways.  You 
must  either  suffer  people  to  drink  immoderately ; or  you 
must  endeavor  to  promote  moderation  in  drinking;  or 
you  must  try  to  persuade  them  to  drink  none  at  all.  One 
of  these  plans  must  be  adopted.  Which  shall  we  choose  ? 
The  first  is  condemned  already.  What  say  we  to  the  se- 
cond ? It  has  unquestionably  the  sanction  of  high  and  an- 
cient ancestry.  It  is  precisely  the  plan  on  which  intempe- 
rance has  been  wrestled  with  ever  since  it  was  first  disco- 
vered that  “ wine  is  a mocker,”  and  that  “ strong  drink  is 
raging.”  But  hence  comes  its  condemnation.  Its  long  use 
is  its  death-witness.  Were  it  new,  we  might  hope  some- 
thing from  its  adoption.  But  it  is  old  enough  to  have  been 
tried  to  the  uttermost.  The  wisdom,  the  energy',  the  be- 
nevolence of  centuries  have  made  the  best  of  it.  The 
attempt  to  keep  down  intemperance  by  endeavoring  to  per- 
suade people  to  indulge  only  moderately  in  strong  diink, 
has  been  the  world’s  favorite  for  ages  ; while  every  age  has 
wondered  that  the  vice  increased  so  rapidly.  At  last  we 
have  been  awakened  to  a fair  estimate  of  the  success  of  the 
plan.  And  what  is  it  ? So  far  from  its  having  shown  the 
least  tendency  to  exterminate  the  evil,  it  is  the  mother  of 
all  its  abominations.  All  who  have  attained  the  stature  of 
full-grown  intemperance  were  once  children  in  this  nurse- 
ry— sucking  at  the  breasts  of  this  parent.  All  the  “ men 
of  strength  to  mingle  strong  drink,”  who  are  now  full 
graduates  in  the  vice,  and  “ masters  in  the  arts”  of  drunk- 
enness, began  their  education  and  served  their  apprentice- 
ship under  the  discipline  of  moderate  drinking.  All  that 
have  learned  to  lie  down  in  the  streets,  and  carry  terror 
into  their  families,  and  whom  intemperance  has  conducted 
to  the  penitentiary  and  the  mad-house,  may  look  back  to 
this  as  the  beginning  of  their  course — the  author  of  their 
destiny.  No  man  ever  set  out  to  use  strong  drink  with  the 
expectation  of  becoming  eventually  a drunkard.  No  man 
ever  became  a drunkard  without  having  at  first  assured 
himself  that  he  could  keep  a safe  rein  upon  every  disposi- 
tion that  might  endanger  his  strict  sobriety.  “ I am  in  no 
danger  while  I only  take  a little,"  is  the  first  principle  in 
the  doctrine  of  Intemperance.  It  is  high  time  it  were  dis- 


7 


243]  THE  UNITED  STATES,  ON  TEMPERANCE. 

carded.  It  has  deluged  the  land  with  vice,  and  sunk  the 
population  into  debasement.  The  same  results  will  ensue 
again,  just  in  proportion  as  the  moderate  use  of  ardent  spi- 
rits continues  to  be  encouraged.  Let  the  multitude  conti- 
nue to  drink  a little,  and  still  our  hundreds  of  thousands 
will  annual!}'  drink  to  death.  It  is  settled,  therefore,  that 
to  encourage  moderate  drinking  is  not  the  plan  on  which 
the  temperance  reformation  can  be  successfully  prosecuted. 
The  faithful  experiment  of  generation  after  generation,  de- 
cides that  it  must  be  abandoned.  A cloud  of  witnesses, 
illustrating  its  consequences  in  all  the  tender  mercies  of  a 
drunkard’s  portion,  demand  that  it  should  be  abandoned. 
Its  full  time  is  come.  Long  enough  have  we  refused  to 
open  our  eyes  to  the  evident  deceitfuliress  of  its  pretensions. 
At  last  the  country  is  awaking,  and  begins  to  realize  the 
emptiness  of  this  dream.  Let  it  go  as  a dream,  and  only 
be  remembered  that  we  may  wonder  how  it  deceived,  and 
lament  how  it  injured  us. 

But,  if  this  be  discarded,  what  plan  of  reformation  re- 
mains ? If  nothing  is  to  be  expected  from  endeavoring  to 
promote  a moderate  use  of  ardent  spirits,  and  stillness  from 
an  immoderate  use,  what  can  be  donel  There  is  but  one 
possible  answer.  Persuade  people  to  use  none  at  all.  Total 
abstinence  is  the  only  plan  on  which  reformation  can  be 
hoped  for.  We  are  shut  up  to  this.  We  have  tried  the 
consequences  of  encouraging  people  to  venture  but  mode- 
rately into  the  atmosphere  of  infection ; and  we  are  now 
convinced  that  it  was  the  very  plan  to  feed  its  strength  and 
extend  its  ravages.  We  are  forced  to  the  conclusion,  that, 
to  arrest  the  pestilence,  we  must  starve  it.  All  the  healthy 
must  abstain  from  its  neighborhood.  All  those  who  are 
now  temperate  must  give  up  the  use  of  the  means  of  in- 
temperance. The  deliverance  of  this  land  from  its  pre- 
sent degradation,  and  from  the  increasing  woes  attendant 
on  this  vice,  depends  altogether  upon  the  extent  to  which 
the  principle  of  total  abstinence  shall  be  adopted  by  our 
citizens. 

But  suppose  this  principle  universally  adopted,  would  it 
clear  the  country  of  intemperance.^  Evidently  it  is  the 


8 ADDRESS  TO  THE  YOUNG  MEN  OF  [244 

only — but  is  it  the  effectual  remedy  ? Most  certainly,  if  all 
temperate  persons  would  disuse  ardent  spirits,  they  could 
not  cease  to  be  temperate.  Many  a drunkard,  under  the 
powerful  check  of  their  omnipresent  reproof,  would  be  so- 
bered. His  companions  would  totter,  one  after  another,  to 
their  graves.  A few  years  would  see  them  buried,  and  the 
land  relinquished  to  the  temperate.  Then  what  would  be 
the  security  against  a new  inroad  of  the  exterminated  vice? 
Why  public  opinion  would  stand  guard  at  every  avenue  by 
which  it  could  come  in.  Consider  the  operation  of  this  in- 
fluence. Why  is  it  now  so  easy  to  entice  a young  man 
into  the  haunts  of  drunkenness!  Because  public  opinion 
favors  the  use  of  the  very  means  of  his  ruin.  He  may 
drink  habitually,  and  fasten  upon  himself  the  appetite  of 
drink,  till  he  becomes  enchained  and  feels  himself  a slave ; 
but  if  he  has  never  fallen  into  manifest  intoxication,  he  has 
forfeited  no  character  in  public  opinion.  All  this  is  a direct 
result  of  the  fact,  that  those  considered  as  temperate  peo- 
ple set  the  example,  and  patronise  the  snare  of  moderate 
drinking.  But  suppose  them  to  take  the  ground  proposed, 
and  bear  down  with  the  whole  force  of  their  example  and 
influence  on  the  side  of  entire  abstinence,  would  they  not 
create  an  immense  force  of  public  opinion  against  the  least 
use  of  ardent  spirits  ? How  then  could  a temperate  man 
ever  become  a drunkard  ! He  has  not  yet  contracted  the 
desire  for  ardent  spirits:  and  how  will  he  contract  it? 
Will  he  risk  his  character ; fly  in  the  face  of  public  feeling 
and  opinion  ; despise  all  the  warnings  in  the  history  of  in- 
temperance, to  get  at  the  use,  and  put  himself  under  the 
torture  of  that  for  which,  as  yet,  he  has  no  disposition? 
Only  post  a wakeful  public  sentiment  at  the  little  opening 
of  moderate  drinking,  and  the  whole  highway  to  the  drunk- 
ard’s ruin  will  be  closed  up.  All  its  present  travellers  will 
soon  pass  away,  while  none  will  be  entering  to  keep  up  the 
character  of  the  road.  Most  assuredly,  then,  the  reforma- 
tion of  the  land  is  in  the  power  of  public  opinion.  It  is 
equally  certain,  that  public  opinion  will  accomplish  nothing 
but  by  setting  its  influence  directly  in  opposition  to  any 
indulgence  in  strong  drink.  And  it  is  just  as  plain,  that  in 
order  to  accomplish  this,  the  temperate  part  of  the  popula- 
tion must  create  a power  of  example  by  setting  out  upon 


9 


245]  THE  UNITED  STATES,  ON  TEMPERANCE. 

the  firm  and  open  ground  of  total  abstinence.  In  propor- 
tion, then,  as  the  temperate  throughout  the  country  shall 
come  up  to  this  ground,  will  the  redemption  of  our  en- 
slaved republic  be  accomplished. 

Thus  have  we  arrived  at  the  last  refuge  of  this  cause. 
Abstain  entirely,  is  the  grand  principle  of  life — to  be  writ- 
ten upon  the  sacred  standard  of  all  temperance  movements, 
and  under  which  the  contending  host  may  be  as  sure  of 
victory  as  if,  like  Constantine,  they  saw  inscribed  with  a 
sunbeam  upon  the  cloud  in  hoc  signo  vinces*  But  such 
being  the  eminent  importance  of  total  abstinence,  it  deserves 
to  be  presented  in  detail.  We  begin,  therefore,  with  the 
position,  that 

Entire  abstinence  from  Ardent  Spirits  is  essential  to  per- 
sonal security.  Such  is  the  insidious  operation  of  strong 
drink  upon  all  the  barriers  we  may  set  up  against  excess  ; 
so  secretly  does  it  steal  upon  the  taste,  excite  the  appetite, 
disorganise  the  nervous  system,  and  undermine  the  deepest 
resolutions  of  him  who  imagines  himself  in  perfect  security  ; 
so  numerous  and  awful  have  been  its  victories  over  every 
barrier,  and  every  species  of  mental  and  bodily  constitu- 
tion, that  we  may  lay  it  down  as  an  assertion,  which  none 
who  know  the  annals  of  intemperance  will  dispute,  that  no 
individual  who  permits  himself  to  use  ardent  spirits  mode- 
rately has  any  valid  security  that  he  will  not  become  a vic- 
tim to  its  power.  We  know  the  remarks  which  instantly 
mount  to  the  lips  of  many  at  the  sight  of  such  an  assertion, 
“ Surely  the  little  we  take  can  never  hurt  us.  Look  around 
and  see  how  many  have  done  the  same,  and  continued  the 
habit  to  the  end  of  life,  without  having  ever  been  betrayed 
into  drunkenness.”  We  do  look  around,  and  are  constrain- 
ed to  remark  how  many  have  seemed  to  live  temperately 
to  the  end,  who,  if  the  reality  were  known,  would  be  quoted 
as  warnings  against  the  insidiousness  of  the  poison  instead 
of  examples  of  the  security  with  which  it  may  be  used  in 
moderation.  They  were  never  delirious ; but  were  they 
never  fevered  1 Fever  is  often  fatal,  without  delirium.  Ah! 


Vol.  8. 


Under  this  standard  you  shall  conquer. 


L2 


10 


ADDRESS  TO  THE  YOUNG  MEN  OP 


[246 

did  every  disease  with  which  human  beings  are  fevered, 
and  swollen,  and  slain,  receive  a candid  name ; were  every 
gravestone  inscribed  with  a true  memorial,  as  well  of  the 
life,  as  the  death  of  him  at  whose  head  it  stands  ; could 
every  consumption,  and  dropsy,  and  liver  complaint,  dis- 
close its  secret  history  ; did  every  shaking  nerve,  and  pal- 
sied stomach,  and  aching  temple,  and  burning  brain,  and 
ruptured  blood-vessel,  relate  how  it  began,  and  grew,  and 
triumphed,  we  should  hear,  indeed,  of  many  who  died  in 
consumption,  or  dropsy,  and  other  diseases,  without  any 
impulse  toward  the  grave  from  the  use  of  strong  drink ; 
but  of  how  many,  never  regarded  as  intemperate,  should 
we  learn  that  the  real,  though  slow  and  silent  cause  of  their 
death  was  drink.  They  lingered  long,  and  their  malady 
was  called  a disease  of  the  lungs  ; or  they  fell  suddenly, 
and  it  was  a case  of  apoplexy  ; or  they  were  greatly  swol- 
len, and  it  was  considered  dropsy  ; they  lost  their  powers 
of  digestion,  and  were  said  to  be  troubled  with  dyspepsy  ; 
every  vital  function  refused  its  natural  action,  and  the 
poor  victim  was  treated  for  a liver  complaint.  But  why  ? 
what  produced  the  disease  1 Alcohol ! They  were  poison- 
ed ! They  died  of  the  intemperate  use  of  ardent  spirits, 
however  moderately  they  may  have  had  the  credit  of  in- 
dulging in  them. 

But  again,  we  look  at  the  world,  and,  while  we  cannot 
acknowledge  that  any  have  habitually  indulged  in  even  a 
moderate  use  of  ardent  spirits  without  receiving  some  inju- 
ry, (for  alcohol  must  hurt  a healthy  man  in  some  w'ay  or 
other,)  we  do  acknowledge  that  many  have  thus  indulged 
with  no  very  perceptible  injury.  They  have  continued 
sober.  But  so  it  must  be  acknowledged,  that  many  have 
breathed  the  air  and  mingled  with  the  victims  of  a pesti- 
lence, without  being  infected  ; or  stood  amidst  the  carnage 
of  battle,  without  receiving  a wound.  But  were  they  in 
no  danger  1 Because  they  came  off  unhurt,  shall  we  be 
willing  to  rush  into  the  streets  of  an  infected  city,  or  join 
the  conflict  of  charging  battalions  i 


247]  THE  UNITED  STATES,  ON  TEMPERANCE.  1 1 

alted  station,  eminent  talents,  great  attainments,  excellent 
feelings,  and  heavy  responsibilities,  are  any  security,  might, 
with  more  than  usual  reason,  have  flattered  themselves  with 
the  assurance  of  safety  : men  of  all  professions,  of  strong 
nerves,  and  numerous  resolutions  and  precautions,  at  last 
reduced  to  a level  with  the  brutes  ; and  this  spectacle  forces 
the  conviction  that  entire  abstinence  is  the  only  security 
against  final  ruin.  Had  you  a tree  in  your  gardens,  the 
fruit  of  which  should  be  discovered  to  have  inflicted  disease 
as  often  as  the  prudent  use  of  ardent  spirits  has  resulted  in 
the  sorrows  of  intemperance,  that  tree  would  be  rooted  up. 
Its  fruit  would  be  entitled  poison.  The  neighborhood 
would  be  afraid  of  it.  Children  would  be  taught  to  beware 
of  so  much  as  venturing  to  try  how  it  tastes. 

Again : The  total  disuse  of  ardent  spirits,  on  the  part  of 
parents,  is  the  only  plan  of  safety  in  bringing  up  their  chil- 
dren. How  many  are  the  parents  whose  lives  are  cursed 
with  children,  who,  were  it  not  that  “ no  drunkard  hath  any 
inheritance  in  the  kingdom  of  God,”  they  would  be  reliev- 
ed to  hear  were  dead  ! But  how  were  those  children  ruined? 
“ / by  those  corrupting  companions:  by  that  vile  dram- 

shop,''' the  parents  would  answer.  But  what  first  inclined 
their  way  to  that  house  of  seduction  ? By  what  avenue  did 
evil  associates  first  effect  a lodgment  in  those  children’s 
hearts?  How  many  parents  must  turn  and  look  at  home 
for  an  answer  ! They  have  not  been  intemperate ; but  while 
the  tastes  and  habits  of  their  children  were  forming,  they 
used  to  drink  moderately  of  ardent  spirits.  The  decanter 
containing  it  had  an  honorable  place  on  the  sideboard 
and  on  the  table.  It  was  treated  respectfully,  as  a fountain 
of  strength  to  the  feeble,  of  refreshment  to  the  weary ; and 
as  perfectly  safe  when  used  in  moderation.  To  offer  it  to 
a friend,  was  a debt  of  hospitality.  Thus  the  whole  weight 
of  parental  example  was  employed  in  impressing  those  chil- 
dren with  a favorable  idea  of  the  pleasure,  the  benefit,  and 
the  security,  (not  to  speak  of  the  necessity,)  of  the  use  of 
ardent  spirits.  Thus  the  parents  presented  the  decanter 
of  strong  drink  to  their  children,  with  a recommendation  as 
forcible  as  if  every  day  they  had  encircled  it  with  a chaplet 
of  roses,  and  pronounced  an  oration  in  its  praise.  And 


12  ADDRESS  TO  THE  YOUNG  MEN  OF  [248 

what  consequences  were  to  be  expected!  Children  who 
revere  their  parents  will  honor  what  their  parents  delight 
to  honor.  It  was  not  to  be  supposed  that  those  children 
would  do  else  than  imitate  the  high  example  before  them. 
Most  naturally  would  they  try  the  taste,  and  emulate  to 
acquire  a fondness  for  strong  drink.  They  would  think  it 
sheer  folly  to  be  afraid  of  what  their  parents  used.  In  a 
little  while  the  flavor  would  become  grateful.  They 
would  learn  to  think  of  it,  ask  for  it,  contrive  ways  of  ob- 
taining it,  and  be  very  accessible  to  the  snares  of  those  who 
used  it  to  excess.  Thus  easily  would  they  slide  into  the 
pit.  And  thus  the  history  of  the  decline,  and  fall,  and 
death  of  multitudes  must  commence,  not  at  the  dram-shop, 
but  at  the  tables  of  parents ; not  with  describing  the  influ- 
ence of  seductive  companions,  but  with  a lamentation  over 
the  examples  of  inconsiderate  parents,  who  furnished  those 
companions  with  their  strongest  argument,  and  wreathed 
their  cup  of  death  with  a garland  of  honor. 

Such  consequences  must  be  looked  for  wherever  parental 
example  is  expected  to  be  held  in  reverence  among  chil- 
dren. A father  may  venture  to  the  brink  of  a precipice, 
and  stand  without  giddiness  upon  the  margin  of  the  torrent 
that  rushes  by  and  plunges  into  a deep  abyss ; but  will  he 
trust  his  child  to  occupy  the  same  position!  But  if  the 
child  see  him  there,  is  there  no  danger  that  when  the  pa- 
rent’s eye  is  away  he  too  will  venture,  and  go  and  play 
upon  the  frightful  verge,  and  be  amused  with  the  bubbles  as 
they  dance  along  the  side  of  the  cataract,  and  at  last  be- 
come giddy,  and  drawn  in  with  the  rush  of  the  tide  ! 

Entire  abstinence  from  the  drink  of  drunkards  is  the 
parents’  only  plan  in  training  up  their  children. 

Again:  The  total  disuse  of  ardent  spirits  is  essential  to 
the  beneficial  influence  of  the  example  of  the  temperate  upon 
society  at  large. 

However  novel  the  assertion  to  some,  it  can  be  easily 
shown  that  the  example  of  all  who  use  ardent  spirits,  ex- 
cept as  they  use  prescribed  medicine,  is  in  the  scale  of  in- 


249]  THE  UNITED  STATES,  ON  TEMPERANCE.  13 

temperance.  As  far  as  its  influence  extends,  it  helps  di- 
rectly to  fill  up  the  ranks  of  the  intemperate,  and  annually 
to  launch  a multitude  of  impenitent  souls  into  a hopeless 
eternity.  Can  this  be  true  1 Suppose  all  tlie  rising  gene- 
ration, in  imitation  of  their  elders,  should  commence  the 
moderate  use  of  strong  drink.  They  are  thus  attracted 
into  the  current  of  the  stream  which  is  setting  silently, 
smoothly,  powerfully,  toward  the  roaring  whirlpool.  But 
now  they  are  urged  by  those  whose  example  they  have  thus 
far  followed,  to  go  no  farther.  “ Beware  ! (they  cry)  the 
tide  is  strong ; do  like  us ; drop  the  anchor,  ply  the  oar.” 
Ah  ! but  now  their  influence  fails.  It  was  strong  enough 
to  persuade  the  thoughtless  into  danger ; but  now  it  is  per- 
fectly impotent  to  keep  them  from  ruin.  They  have  none 
of  the  strength  or  prudence  by  which  others  have  been  ena- 
bled to  keep  their  place.  They  have  no  anchor  to  drop ; 
nor  skill  at  the  oar.  They  yield,  and  go  down,  and  perish. 
But  where  must  we  look  for  the  prime  cause  of  this  de- 
struction] To  those  whose  example  enticed  them  into  the 
way — the  example  of  prudent  drinkers.  Such,  unquestiona- 
bly, was  the  influence  by  which  a great  portion  of  those 
now  intemperate  were  first  drawn  into  the  snares  of  death. 
It  is  not,  as  many  suppose,  the  odious  example  of  those  al- 
ready under  the  dominion  of  intemperate  habits,  by  which 
others  are  seduced  : the  operation  of  such  disgusting  pre- 
cedents is  rather  on  the  side  of  entire  abstinence  from  the 
means  of  their  debasement.  But  it  is  to  the  honor  given 
the  degrading  cup,  by  those  who  can  drink  without  what  is 
considered  excess,  that  we  must  ascribe,  in  a great  degree, 
the  first  seduction  of  all  who  receive  the  ultimate  wages  of 
intemperance. 

Again : Entire  abstinence  from  strong  drink  should  be 
the  rule  of  all ; because,  to  one  in  health  it  never  does  good  ; 
but,  on  the  contrary,  it  always  of  its  very  nature  does  harm. 
We  know  the  general  idea,  that  hard  labor,  and  cold  weather, 
and  a hot  sun  demand  its  use  ; that  a little  to  stimulate  the 
appetite,  and  a little  to  help  digestion,  and  a little  to  com- 
pose us  to  sleep,  and  a little  to  refresh  us  when  fatigued, 
and  a little  to  enliven  us  when  depressed,  is  very  useful, 
if  not  necessary.  And  we  know  hov/  soon  so  many  little 


14 


ADDRESS  TO  THE  YOUNG  MEN  OF 


[2o0  , 

matters  make  a great  amount.  AVe  have  often  been  called 
to  “ behold  bow  great  a matter  a little  fire  kiiidleth.’’  A 
more  unfounded  idea  never  was  adopted,  than  that  a man 
in  health  can  need  such  medicine.  Is  there  any  nourish- 
ment in  drinking  alcohol  'I  About  as  much  as  in  eating 
fire. 

But  why  should  not  the  opinions  of  physicians  suffice  on 
this  point  ? If  we  take  their  advice  as  to  what  will  cure 
us  when  sick,  why  not  also  as  to  what  will  injure  us  when 
well  ? The  first  medical  men  throughout  the  land  do  not 
more  perfectly  agree,  that  to  breathe  a foul  atmosphere  is 
pernicious,  than  that  the  use  of  strong  drink,  in  any  quan- 
tity, is  hurtful.  Abstain  entirely,  is  their  loud  and  reiterated  ; 
advice.  Many  of  them  will  even  maintain  that  it  can  easily 
and  profitably  be  dispensed  with  in  medicine. 

But  how  speaks  experience  on  this  head  I AVho  works 
the  longest  under  the  sun  of  August,  or  stands  the  firmest 
against  the  winter,  or  abides  the  safest  amidst  abounding 
disease,  or  arrives  last  at  the  infirmities  of  old  age  ? The  ' 
experiment  of  total  abstinence  has  been  fairly  tried  in 
thousands  of  cases  by  those  who  once  imagined  they  must 
drink  a little  every  day ; and  invariably  have  they  borne 
a grateful  testimony  to  its  happy  effects  upon  the  health  of 
their  bodies  and  the  peace  of  their  minds.  Farms  are  tilled, 
harvests  gathered,  ships  built ; companies  of  militia  parade, 
associations  of  firemen  labor,  fishermen  stand  their  expo- 
sure, the  student  trims  his  lamp,  the  hungry  eat  their  bread, 
and  the  weary  take  their  rest,  with  no  debt  of  thanks  to  the 
aid  of  the  distillery. 

AVe  say  no  more  upon  the  plan  of  entire  abstinence.  But 
we  will  mention  four  reasons  which  should  embolden  any 
friend  of  temperance  in  urging  it  upon  others. 

1st.  It  is  extremely  simple.  All  can  comprehend,  all 
can  execute  it.  It  requires  no  labor ; costs  no  stud\';  con- 
sumes no  time. 

2d.  It  contains  no  coercion.  Its  whole  force  is  that  of 


25i]  THE  UNITED  STATES,  ON  TEMPERANCE. 


1.5 


reason.  The  influence  of  laws  and  of  nragistrates  it  does 
not  embrace.  No  man  can  complain  of  a trespass  upon 
liis  liberty,  when  we  would  persuade  him  to  escape  tlie 
drunkard’s  slavery  by  not  tasting  the  drunkard’s  cup. 

3d.  In  this  cure  there  is  no  pain.  It  is  recommended  to 
whom? — the  temperate;  to  those  who,  having  formed  no 
strong  attacliment  to  ardent  spirit,  can  feel  no  great  self- 
denial  in  renouncing  its  use. 

4th.  In  this  remedy  there  is  no  expense.  To  those  who 
complain  of  other  works  of  usefulness  because  of  their  cost, 
this  is  without  blame.  To  drink  no  spirits,  will  cost  no 
mone}'.  But  what  will  it  save  1 It  will  save  the  majority 
of  the  poorer  class  of  the  population,  in  most  of  our  towns, 
one  half  their  annual  rent.  It  will  empty  all  our  alms- 
houses and  hospitals  of  two-thirds  their  inhabitants,  and 
support  the  remainder.  Yes,  such  is  the  tax  which  the 
consumption  of  ardent  spirits  annually  levies  upon  this  na- 
tion, that  the  simple  disuse  of  strong  drink  throughout  the 
land,  would  save  in  one  year  the  value  of  at  least  five  times 
the  whole  national  revenue. 

It  is  too  late  to  say  that  a general  adoption  of  the  great 
principle  of  total  abstinenca  is  too  much  to  be  hoped  for. 
A few  years  ago,  who  would  not  have  been  considered  al- 
most deranged  had  he  predicted  what  has  already  been  ac- 
complished in  this  cause  ? Great  things,  wonderful  things, 
have  already  been  effected.  The  enemies  of  this  reforma- 
tion, whose  pecuniary  interests  set  them  in  opposition,  are 
unable  to  deny  tliis  fact.  It  is  felt  from  the  distillery  to  the 
dram-shop.  It  is  seen  from  Maine  to  the  utmost  South  and 
West.  Every  traveller  perceives  it.  Eveiy  vender  knows 
it.  The  whole  country  wonders  at  the  progress  of  this 
cause.  It  is  rapidly  and  powerfully  advancing.  One  thing., 
and  only  one,  can  prevent  its  entire  success.  The  frenzy 
of  drunkenness  cannot  arrest  its  goings.  The  hundreds  of 
thousands  in  the  armies  of  intemperance  cannot  resist  its 
march.  But  the  temperate  can.  If  backward  to  come  up 
to  the  vital  principle  of  this  work,  they  will  prevent  its 
accomplishment.  But  the  banner  of  triumph  will  wave  in 

8 


16 


ADDRESS  TO  THE  YOUNG  MEN  OF 


[2o2 


peace  over  all  the  land,  hailed  by  thousands  of  grateful  cap- 
tives from  the  gripe  of  death,  in  spite  of  all  the  warring  of 
the  “ mighty  to  drink  wine  if  those  who  abhor  intempe- 
rance, and  think  they  would  be  willing  to  make  a great  sa- 
crifice to  save  their  children  or  friends  from  its  blasting 
curse,  will  only  come  up  to  the  little  effort  of  entire  absti- 
nence. This  is  the  surest  and  shortest  way  to  drain  off  the 
river  of  fire  now  flowing  through  the  land;  It  is  the  mo- 
derate use  of  the  temperate  that  keeps  open  the  smoking 
fountains  from  which  that  tide  is  poured. 


To  young  men  who  have  not  yet  been  brought  under 
the  dominion  of  intemperate  habits,  we  address  the  urgent 
exhortation  of  this  cause.  Consider  the  immense  respon- 
sibility that  devolv'es  upon  you.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say 
that  the  question,  whether  this  nation  is  to  be  delivered 
from  the  yoke  of  death  ; whether  the  present  march  of  re- 
formation shall  go  on  till  the  last  hiding-place  of  this  vice 
shall  be  subdued  ; or  else  be  arrested  and  turned  back  with 
the  sorrow  of  beholding  the  vaunting  triumph,  and  the  em- 
boldened increase  of  all  the  ministers  of  wo  which  attend 
in  the  train  of  intemperance,  rests  ultimately  with  \ou. 
You  compose  the  muscle  and  sinew  of  this  nation.  You 
are  to  set  the  example  b)'  which  the  next  generation  is  to 
be  influenced.  By  3'our  influence  its  character  will  be 
formed.  By  your  stand  its  position  will  in  a great  mea- 
sure be  determined.  You  are  soon  to  supplant  those  who 
have  passed  the  state  of  life  which  you  noware  occupying. 
Soon  the  generation  that  is  to  grow  up  under  the  influence 
of  your  example  and,  instruction,  will  have  reached  3‘our 
place.  Thus  are  you  the  heart  of  the  nation.  Corruption 
and  debasement  here  must  be  felt  to  the  extremities  of  the 
national  body.  Temperance  here  will  eventually  expell,  by 
its  strong  pulsations,  the  last  remnant  of  the  burning  blood 
of  drunkenness  from  the  system,  and  carry  soberness  and 
health  to  every  member  of  our  political  constitution.  Are 
these  things  so  ? Suppose  them  exaggerations  ! Grant  that 
the  importance  of  your  vigorous  and  unanimous  co-opera- 
tion in  this  work  of  reformation  is  unreasonably  magnified  ; 
still  how  much  can  you  do.^  Were  our  coasts  invaded  by 
a powerful  enemy,  come  to  ravage  our  cities  ; chain  our 


253]  THE  UNITED  STATES,  ON  TEMPERANCE.  17 

liberties  ; poison  our  fountains ; burn  our  harvests,  and 
carry  off  our  youth  into  perpetual  slavery — what  could 
young  men  do  ? To  whom  would  the  trump  of  battle  be 
sounded  so  effectually  ? Who  else  would  feel  upon  them- 
selves the  chief  responsibility  for  their  country’s  rescue  ? 
What  excuse  could  they  find  for  supineness  and  sloth  ? 
Such  indeed  is  the  enemy  by  which  the  country  is  already 
desolated.  And  now  it  is  to  the  warm  hearts,  and  the 
strong  hands,  and  the  active  energies,  and  the  powerful  ex- 
ample of  young  men,  that  the  dearest  interests  of  the  nation 
look  for  deliverance. 

IToung  men,  shall  we  not  enlist  heartily  and  unitedly  in 
promoting  the  extermination  of  intemperance  1 What  ques- 
tion have  we  to  decide  ? Is  it  a question  whether  the 
country  is  cursed  with  this  plague  to  a most  horrible  and 
alarming  extent  1 No.  Is  it  a question  whether  the  pre- 
sent power  and  the  progressive  character  of  intemperance 
among  us  demand  an  immediate  rising  up  of  all  the  moral 
force  of  the  nation  to  subdue  it  ? No.  Is  it  a question 
whether  the  most  important  part  of  the  strength  and  success 
of  such  an  effort  depends  upon  the  part  in  it  which  the 
young  men  in  the  United  States  shall  take?  No.  Then 
what  does  the  spirit  of  patriotism  say  to  us  ? If  we  love 
our  country ; if  we  would  rise  in  arms  to  shake  off  the 
hosts  of  an  invader  from  our  shores  ; if  every  heart  among 
us  would  swell  with  indignation  at  the  attempt  of  an  inter- 
na-! power  to  break  in  pieces  our  free  constitution,  and  sub- 
stitute a government  of  chains  and  bayonets  ; what  does 
the  love  of  country  bid  us  do,  when  by  universal  acknow- 
ledgment an  enemy  is  now  among  us  whose  breath  is  pes- 
tilence and  whose  progress  desolation  ; an  enemy  that  has 
already  done  and  is  daily  doing  a more  dreadful  work  against 
the  happiness  of  the  people  than  all  the  wars  and  plagues 
we  have  ever  suffered. 

What  does  the  voice  of  common  humanity  say  to  us  ? 
Can  we  feel  for  human  wo,  and  not  be  moved  at  the  spec- 
tacle of  wretchedness  and  despair  which  the  intemperance 
of  this  country  presents?  Let  us  imagine  the  condition  of 
the  hundreds  of  thousands  who  are  now  burning  with  the 


18 


ADDRESS  TO  THE  YOUNG  MEN  OF 


[254 


hidden  flame,  and  hastening  to  utter  destruction  hy  this  most 
pitiless  of  all  vices  ; let  us  embrace  in  one  view  the  countless 
woes  inflicted  by  the  cruel  tempers,  the  deep  disgrace,  the 
hopeless  poverty,  and  the  corrupting  examples  of  all  these 
victims,  upon  wives,  children,  parents,  friends,  and  the  mo- 
rals of  society ; let  us  stand  at  the  graves  of  the  thirty 
thousand  that  annually  perish  by  intemperance,  and  there 
be  still,  and  listen  to  what  the  voice  of  humanity  speaks. 

What  does  the  exhortation  of  religion  say  to  usi  What 
undermines  more  insidiously  every  moral  principle  of  the 
heart ; what  palsies  so  entirely  every  moral  faculty  of  the 
soul ; what  so  sooti  and  so  awfully  makes  man  dead  while 
he  liveth  ; what  spreads  through  the  whole  frame-work  of 
society  such  rottenness,  or  so  effectually  opens  the  door  to 
all  those  powers  of  darkness  by  which  the  pillars  of  public 
order  are  crumbled  and  the  restraints  of  religion  are  mock- 
ed ; what  so  universally  excludes  from  the  death-bed  of  a 
sinner  the  consolations  of  the  Gospel,  or  writes  upon  his 
grave  such  a sentence  of  despair,  as  intemperance?  Behold 
the  immense  crowd  of  its  victims  ! Where  are  they  not  seen? 
Read  in  the  book  of  God  that  declaration,  “ nor  thieves, 
nor  drunkards,  shall  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God then 
listen  to  what  the  exhortation  of  Christian  benevolence 
speaks  to  us.  Is  it  asked,  what  can  young  men  do?  We 
can  do  this  one  thing  at  least.  Tie  can  continue  temperate. 
What  if  every  one  of  us,  now  free  from  the  appetite  of 
strong  drink,  should  hold  on  to  our  liberty;  how  vrould  the 
ranks  of  intemperance,  which  death  is  continually  wasting, 
be  filled  up  ? But  how  shall  we  continue  temperate  ? iVot 
by  using  the  means  of  destruction.  Not  by  a moderate 
indulgence  in  the  cup  of  seduction.  Not  by  beginning 
v/here  all  those  began  who  have  since  ended  in  ruin.  But 
by  entire  abstinence  from  strong  drink.  Let  us  renounce  en- 
tirely what  cannot  profit  us,  what  forms  no  important  item 
in  our  comforts,  what  may  bring  us,  as  it  has  brought  such 
multitudes  as  strong  as  we,  to  the  mire  and  dirt  of  drunk- 
enness. 

But  we  can  do  something  more.  We  can  contribute  the 
influence  of  our  example  to  help  bring  into  disrepute  the  use 


255]  THE  UNITED  STATES,  ON  TEMPERANCE.  19 

of  ardent  spirits  for  any  purposes  but  those  of  medicine.  If 
any  of  us  are  confident  tliat  we  could  go  on  in  the  moderate, 
without  ever  coming  to  the  immoderate  use  of  strong  drink, 
we  know  that  the  deliverance  of  the  country  from  its  pre- 
sent curse  is  utterly  hopeless  while  ardent  spirit  is  in  the 
hands  of  the  people.  It  must  be  banished.  Public  opi- 
nion must  set  it  aside.  Young  men  must  contribute  to  form 
that  opinion.  It  cannot  be  formed  without  the  total  ab- 
stinence of  the  temperate.  Let  us  not  dare  to  stand  in 
its  way. 

But  we  can  do  something  more.  We  have  an  influence 
which,  in  a variety  of  ways,  we  may  use  in  the  community 
to  diminish  the  temptations  which,  wherever  we  look,  are 
presented  to  the  unwary  to  entice  them  to  intemperance. 
We  can  employ  the  influence  of  example,  of  opinion,  and 
of  persuasion,  to  drive  out  of  fashion  and  into  disrepute, 
the  common  but  ensnaring  practice  of  evincing  hospitality 
by  the  display  of  strong  drink,  and  of  testifying  friendship 
and  good  will  over  the  glass.  We  can  contribute  much 
powerful  co-operation  in  the  effort  to  make  the  use  of  ar- 
dent spirits,  for  the  ordinary  purposes  of  drink  so  unbe- 
coming the  character  of  temperate  people,  that  he  who 
wishes  to  have  his  reputation  for  temperance  unsuspected 
will  either  renounce  the  dangerous  cup,  or  wait  till  no  eye 
but  that  of  God  can  see  him  taste  it.  We  can  do  much, 
in  union  with  those  of  more  age  and  more  established  in- 
fluence, to  create  a public  feeling  against  the  licensing  of 
those  innumerable  houses  of  corruption  where  seduction 
into  the  miseries  of  drunkenness  is  the  trade  of  their  keep- 
ers, and  the  means  of  destruction  are  vended  so  low,  and 
offered  so  attractively,  that  the  poorest  may  purchase  his 
death,  and  the  strongest  may  be  persuaded  to  do  so.  These 
horrible  abodes  of  iniquity  not  only  facilitate  the  daily  ine- 
briation of  the  veteran  drunkard,  but  they  encourage,  and 
kindle,  and  nourish,  and  confirm  the  incipient  appetite  of 
the  novice,  and  put  forth  the  first  influence  in  that  system 
of  persuasion  by  which  the  sober  are  ultimately  subdued 
and  levelled  to  the  degradation  of  wretches,  from  whose 
loathsomeness  they  once  turned  away  in  disgust.  Why  are 
these  instruments  of  cruelty  permitted  1 Not  because  the 


20  ADDRESS  TO  THE  YOUNG  MEN,  &c.  [•256 

authorities  will  not  refuse  to  license  them.  Public  opinion 
is  the  conscience  of  those  authorities.  Let  the  opinions 
and  feelings  of  that  portion  of  the  community  where  the 
strength  and  patronage  of  society  reside,  be  once  enlisted 
in  opposition  to  such  houses, and  the  evil  will  be  remedied; 
the  morals  of  society  will  not  be  insulted,  nor  the  happiness 
of  families  endangered  at  every  step  by  the  agents  and 
means  and  attractions  of  intemperance.  Young  men  have 
much  to  do,  and  are  capable  of  doing  a great  work  in  cre- 
ating such  a public  opinion. 

In  order  to  exert  ourselves  with  the  best  effect  in  the 
promotion  of  the  several  objects  in  this  great  cause  to 
which  young  men  should  apply  themselves,  let  us  associate 
ourselves  into  Temperance  Societies.  We  know  the  impor- 
tance of  associated  exertions.  We  have  often  seen  how 
a few  instruments,  severally  weak,  have  become  mighty 
when  united.  Every  work,  whether  for  evil  or  benevolent 
purposes,  has  felt  the  life,  and  spur,  and  power  of  co-ope- 
ration. The  whole  progress  of  the  temperance  reformation, 
thus  far,  is  owing  to  the  influence  of  societies  ; to  the  coming 
together  of  the  temperate,  and  the  union  of  their  resolutions, 
examples,  and  exertions,  under  the  articles  of  temperance 
societies.  Thus  examples  have  been  brought  out,  set  upon 
a hill,  and  made  secure.  Thus  the  weak  have  been  strength- 
ened ; the  wavering  confirmed  ; the  irresolute  emboldened. 
Thus  public  attention  has  been  awakened,  public  feeling 
interested,  and  public  sentiment  turned  and  brought  to  bear. 
Thus  works  have  been  performed,  information  distributed, 
agencies  employed,  and  a thousand  instruments  set  in  mo- 
tion which  no  industry  of  individual  unassociated  action 
could  have  reached.  Let  temperance  societies  be  multipli- 
ed. Every  new  association  is  a new  battery  against  the 
strong  hold  of  the  enemy,  and  gives  a new  impulse  to  the 
hearts  of  those  who  have  already  joined  the  conflict.  Let 
us  arise,  and  be  diligent,  and  be  united  ; and  may  the  God 
of  mercy  bless  our  work. 


END. 


]^0.  2^7. 


WHO  SliEW  AEE  THESE! 


AN  AUTHENTIC  NARRATIVE. 


About  twenty  years  ago  Mr.  and  Mrs. decent  and 

respectable  people,  removed  witli  a family  of  children  from 
the  country  to  a neighboring  town,  where  tiiey  purchased  a 
small  house  and  lot,  and  lived  very  comfortabh'.  Tiieir 
family,  liowever,  increasing  to  five  boys,  they  removed  to 
the  shore,  the  town  being  situated  on  a river,  and  in  addition 
.to  their  former  means  of  obtaining  a living,  erected  a sign 
and  provided  “ entertainment”  for  such  as  chose  to  call  on 
them.  They  were  temperate  people,  accounted  honest,  and 
sent  their  children  to  the  most  resiiectable  school  in  the  place. 
In  a short  time  it  was  perceived  that  they  too  frequently 
partook  of  the  “entertainment,”  as  it  is  called,  which  thcv 
jirovided  for  their  customers.  The  habit  of  daily  measuring 
the  poison  to  others,  induced  them  to  taste  for  themselves; 
their  house  was  not  as  respectable  as  formerly  ; restraints 
were  removed;  and  although  they  were  not  drunkards,  tlicy 
bore  evidently  the  first  symptoms  of  the  working  of  the 
deadly  drug  which  they  fearlessly  handled.  If  the  Tempe- 
rance Reformation  had  been  at  that  time  commenced,  they 
might  have  been  warned  of  their  danger,  and  saved  from 
ruin;  but  nothing  arrested  their  progress  in  the  path  of  the 
destroyer. 

Their  children,  who  used  to  be  clad  with  garments  which 
denoted  a mother’s  industry,  soon  began  to  bear  marks  ol 
neglect,  and  were  by  degrees  withdrawn  from  the  school — 
their  parents,  because  of  hard  limes,  not  being  able  to  sup- 
port them  there.  They  consequently  lounged  about,  be- 
came acquainted  with  the  customers  at  the  bar,  and  learned 
their  evil  habits,  especially  that  of  drinking. 

The  deadly  venom  appeared  to  spread  with  more  than 
common  rapidity  in  the  veins  of  that  miserable  couple,  and 
they  were  shortly  incapable  of  keeping  even  the  wretched, 
disgraceful  establishment,  which  had  been  the  means  of 
working  their  ruin.  ^ 

Vol.8. 


2 


WHO  Sr.EW  ALL  THESE  ? 


[286 


They  had  commenced  it  to  become  rich ; but  at  the  end 
of  a few  years  it  had  reduced  tl’.ein  to  povert}',  wretched 
indeed.  Tliey  had  lost  t!>eir  respectability,  tlieir  honesty, 
and  their  property,  wiiicli  had  been  mortgaged  for  rum; 
tlieir  children  were  become  vagabonds,  and  their  house  a 
receptacle  of  vice.  Of  all  their  five  sons,  not  one  escaped 
tlie  infection;  they  and  their. miserable  parents  wallowed  in 
the  rnire  together. 

Jn  consequence  of  the  dreadful  excess  to  which  she  had 

abandoned  herself,  the  imagination  of  Mrs. became 

disordered,  and  conjured  up  horrible  visions.  She  fancied 
herself  bound  with  a belt  of  brass,  to  which  was  attached  a 
chain  held  by  the  great  enemy  of  souls,  who  had  indeed 
enchained  her  with  this  most  dire  and  cflectual  of  all  his 
spells.  She  would  cross  the  room  with  the  raj/idiU’  of 
lightning,  screaming  that  he  was  winding  up  the  chain,  and 
she  must  go,  she  could  not  stop.  She  was  afraid  to  pass  her 
own  threshold,  and  fancied  she  heard  unnarthly  voices,  and 
saw  sjiirits  black  and  hideous  all  around  her.  “ There  they 

sit,”  she  would  say,  “ J ,”  “ M ,”  (mentioning  the 

names  of  all  her  children,)  “ there  they  sit  grinning  at  me 
and  telling  me  1 sent  them  to  hell ; they  are  on  the  beams 
and  in  the  corners,  and  wherever  I go.” 

The  writer  of  this  has  often  witnessed  her  desperate  strug- 
gles; has  seen  her,  when  a gleam  of  reason  came  over  her 
mind,  weep  in  bitterness  over  her  ruin  and  misery  ; has 
heard  her  confessions  of  deeds  of  villainy  committed  under 
her  roof ; and  has  heard  also  her  solemn  vows  to  refrain 
from  that  which  wrought  all  this  ntisery  and  sin ; but  after 
ail  this,  has  seen  her — “ seek  it  yet  again.” 

All  the  arguments  which  religion  can  ofl'er  were  set  before 
her,  and  she  often  felt,  or  appeared  to  feel,  their  force,  and 
resolved: — but  the  deadly  wave  seemed  to  have  retired  to 
gather  new  force,  and  again  swept  over  her  and  prostrated 
her  lower  than  ‘ the  beasts  that  perish.’  There  can  be  no 
more  eftectual  barrier  against  the  voice  of  conscience,  the 
powerful  cords  of  natural  aflectio.n,  and  the  strivings  of  the 
blessed  Spirit  of  God,  than  the  use  of  ardent  spirit. 

Her  husband  had  made  himself  literally  a beast;  his  ap- 
pearance was  scarcely  human;  bloated,  discoloured,  totter- 
ing, uttering  curses,  and  sometimes  threatening  her  life. 
Her  constitution,  after  a while,  gave  way,  and  she  sank  in 


WHO  SLEW  ALL  THESE? 


3 


287] 

death,  snoring  out  the  few  last  days  of  her  existence  in  a 
state  of  stupor,  covered  with  rags  and  filth.  Her  husband 
had  so  benunabed  every  feeling  of  humanity  by  his  excess, 
that  he  seemed  very  little  affected  6y  her  death ; and  to  one 
who  reminded  him  of  their  former  respectability,  and  spoke 
of  the  wretched  state  to  which  they  were  reduced,  urging 
him  powerfully,  over  the  dead  body  of  the  self-murdered 
wife,  nov3  to  desist,  he  replied  stupidly,  that  there  is  an 
eleventh  hour. 

Four  or  five  years  have  elapsed,  and  he  is  still  in  the 
same  state  of  beastly  degradation — his  property  entirely 
gone,  and  he  occasionally  earning  a few  cents,  with  which 
to  purchase  the  deadly  drug  which  is  consuming  his  vitals, 
and  rendering  him  stupid  and  dead  to  every  motive  that  can 
be  urged  for  reformation. 

Two  of  the  sons  of  this  unhappy  man  have  gone  down  to 
the  chambers  of  death  in  an  awful  manner.  Another,  in  an 
a.Tray  occasioned  by  intoxication,  received  such  an  injury  in 
the  head,  that  his  intellect  has  suffered,  and  he  is  subject  to 
fits  of  partial  derangement.  The  other  two  are  very  in- 
temperate; one  of  them  apparently  lost  to  all  sense  of 
shame. 

The  circumstances  attending  the  death  of  one  of  these 
young  men  were  extraordinary.  He  had  become  subject  to 
fits  in  consequence  of  his  intemperate  life  ; and  his  wife  fol- 
lowing the  same  course,  they  were  obliged  to  give  up  keep- 
ing public  house,  and  he  maintained  himself  by  fishing. 
He  frequently  stopped  colored  people  and  others  who  wnie 
advertised  as  runaways,  and  obtained  a reward  for  returning 
them  to  their  masters.  He  was  brutally  cruel  in  his  treat- 
ment of  those  who  thus  fell  into  his  hands,  and  on  one  oc- 
casion, having  apprehended  a j'oung  colored  man  on  suspi- 
cion of  his  being  a runaway,  he  abused  him,  and  confined 
him  a night  in  his  house.  The  man  declared  the  name  of 
his  master,  and  that  he  had  permission  to  go  from  home. 
He  however  determined  on  returning  him,  hoping  to  obtain 
a reward.  The  next  morning  he  and  one  of  his  companions 
took  him  in  a small  fishing  boat  to  his  master,  who  confirmed 
he  man’s  story,  and  sent  them  away  disappointed.  The 
wind  died  away  when  they  were  a short  distance  from  the 
sluH'e,  and  they  cast-  anchor  to  wait  for  the  tide.  It  was  a 
cold  day  in  February : they  had  no  fire ; but  the  sun  shining 
8* 


4 


WHO  SLEW  ALL  THESE? 


[288 


upon  them,  they  seated  themselves  at  each  end  of  the  boat 
in  silence.  The  attention  of  his  companion  was-directed 
towards  him  by  the  sound  of  a heavy  plunge ; and  he  saw 
him  just  falling  over  the  side  of  the  boat  into  the  water, 
llg  ran  forwards,  but  too  late  to  save  him : there  was  no 
struggle,  no  scream,  but  he  sank  like  lead  into  the  mighty 
waters.  He  must  have  fallen  in  a fit  His  affrighted  com  - 
panion returned  as  quickly  as  he  could,  and  the  following 
day  search  was  made  for  his  body,  which  was  found  swollen 
and  disfigured,  and  laid  in  the  grave. 

His  brother,  the  youngest  of  the  five,  had  not  reached  his 
twentieth  year,  but  had  given  himself  up  to  the  influence  of 
the  vice  which  has  proved  the  destruction  of  his  family,  until 
he  also  was  subject  to  fits.  Not  many  months  ago  he  was 
seized  with  one,  being  then  intoxicated ; he  w’as  recovered 
by  the  slanders  by,  and  crawled  to  a small  sloop  lying  partly 
on  the  shore  for  repairs : he  laid  himself  down  there,  and 
was  found,  ten  minutes  afterward  dead,  with  his  head  partly 
under  water.  It  was  supposed  that  another  fit  had  seized 
him,  and  that  in  his  struggle  he  had  fallen  and  sufibcated. 

This  is  a melancholy  history,  but  a true  one.  Many  cir- 
cumstances rendering  it  more  striking  are  suppressed,  as 
some  of  the  parties  are  living.  The  old  man,  but  a short 
time  ago,  w’as  warned  again,  and  the  question  put  to  him, 
“What  are  the  benefits  of  this  practice?’’  “It  fattens 
grave-yards,"'  he  replied,  wdth  a distorted  countenance  and  a 
horrid  laugh. 

Yes,  such  are  the  dire  results  of  intemperance;  and  of 
intemperance  not  born  with  one,  but  brought  on  by  a tem- 
jierate  use  of  ardent  spirit.  These  facts  are  well  known. 
They  are  published  with  the  hope  of  their  proving  a restraint 
to  some  one  who,  trusting  in  the  strength  of  principle,  may 
occasionally  taste  this  destructive  poison. 

“ Look  not  upon  the  wine  when  it  is  red,  when  it  givelli 
his  color  in  the  cup,  when  it  moveth  itself  aright : at  the  last 
it  biteth  like  a serpent  and  stingeth  like  an  adder.” 


PUBLISHED  BY  THE  AMEHICAN  TRACT  SOCIETY, 

And  sold  at  their  Depository,  No.  150  Nassau-street,  near  the  City 
Hall,  New-York;  and  by  Agents  of  the  Society,  its  branches,. and 
Auxiliaries,  in  the  principal  cities  and  towns  in  the  United  Statt  ". 


ZVO.  249 


ADDRESS 

ON  THE 

SFFSSOTS  OF  IZffTFXMF£Ril.MCIE 

ON  THE 

INTELLECTUAL,  MORAL,  AND  PHYSICAL  POWERS. 


ORIGINALLY  DELIVERED  BEFORE  THE  WASHINGTON  CITY  TEMPE- 
RANCE SOCIETY, 

BY  THOMAS  SEWALL,  M.  D. 

Professor  of  Anatomy  and  Physiology  in  the  Columbian  College. 


We  are  convened,  my  fellow-citizens,  to  attend  the  first 
anniversary  of  a Society  for  the  promotion  of  Tempe- 
rance ; an  institution  which,  in  accordance  with  the  spirit 
of  the  times,  has  been  established  through  our  land  by  the 
almost  united  voice  of  the  nation,  and  this  for  the  sup- 
pression of  one  of  the  most  alarming  evils  that  ever  in- 
I'ested  human  society ; a vice,  too,  so  odious  in  its  nature, 
so  injurious  in  its  consequences,  and  attended  with  so  many 
circumstances  of  suffering,  mortification,  and  disgrace,  that 
it  seems  difficult  to  understand  how  it  should  ever  have  be 
come  a prevalent  evil  among  mankind ; and  more  especially 
how  it  should  have  come  down  to  us  from  the  early  periods 
of  societ}',  gaining  strength,  and  power,  and  influence,  in  its 
descent.  That  such  is  the  fact,  requires  no  proof.  Its  de- 
vastating effects  are  but  too  obvious.  In  these  latter  times 
more  especially,  it  has  swept  over  our  land  with  the  rapidity 
and  power  of  a tempest,  bearing  down  every  thing  in  its 
course.  Not  content  with  rioting  in  the  haunts  of  ignorance 
and  vice,  it  has  passed  through  our  consecrated  groves,  has 
entered  our  most  sacred  enclosures:  and  oh!  how  many 
men  of  genius  and  of  letters  have  fallen  before  it!  how 
many  lofty  intellects  have  been  shattered  and  laid  in  ruins 
by  its  power!  how  many  a warm  and  philanthropic  lieart 


2 


DR.  SEWALl’s  address. 


[322 


has  been  chilled  by  its  icy  touch  ! It  has  left  no  retreat  un- 
visited ; it  has  alike  invaded  our  public  and  private  assem- 
blies, our  political  and  social  circles,  our  courts  ol'  justice 
and  halls  of  legislation.  It  has  stalked  within  the  very  walls 
of  our  Capitol,  and  there  left  the  stain  of  its  polluting  toucli 
on  our  national  glory.  It  has  leaped  over  the  pale  of  the 
Church,  and  even  reached  up  its  sacrilegious  arm  to  t!ie 
pulpit  and  dragged  down  some  of  its  richest  ornaments. 
It  has  revelled  equally  on  the  spoils  of  the  palace  and  the 
cottage,  and  has  seized  its  victims,  with  an  unsparing  grasp, 
from  every  class  of  society;  the  private  citizen  and  public 
functionary,  the  high  and  the  low,  the  rich  and  the  poor,  the 
enlightened  and  the  ignorant : and  where  is  there  a family 
among  us  so  happy  as  not  to  have  wept  over  some  of  its 
members,  who  have  fallen  by  the  hand  of  this  ruthless  de- 
stroyer ■? 

As  a nation,  intemperance  has  corrupted  our  morals,  im- 
paired our  intellect,  and  enfeebled  our  physical  strength. 
Indeed,  in  whatever  light  we  view  it,  whether  as  an  indivi- 
dual, a social,  or  national  evil,  as  afl'ecting  our  personal  in- 
dependence and  happiness,  our  national  wealth  and  in- 
dustry; as  reducing  our  power  of  naval  and  military  de- 
fence, as  enfeebling  the  intellectual  energies  of  the  nation, 
and  undermining  the  health  of  our  fellow-citizens ; as 
sinking  the  patriotism  and  valor  of  the  nation,  as  in- 
creasing paupers,  poverty  and  taxation,  as  sapping  the  foun- 
dation of  our  moral  and  religious  institutions,  or  as  introdu- 
cing disorder,  distress  and  ruin  into  families  and  societv';  it 
calls  to  us,  in  a voice  of  thunder,  to  awake  from  our  slum- 
bers, to  seize  every  weapon,  and  wield  ever}"  power  which 
God  and  nature  have  placed  within  our  reach,  to  protect 
ourselves  and  our  fellow-citizens  from  its  ravages. 

But  the  occasion  will  not  permit  me  to  dwell  on  the  ge- 
neral effects  of  intemperance,  nor  to  trace  the  history  of  its 
causes.  I shall,  therefore,  confine  myself  more  particularly 
to  a consideration  of  its  influence  on  the  individual:  its  ef- 
fects on  the  moral,  intellectual  and  ])hysical  constitution  of 
man — not  the  primary  effect  of  ardent  spirit  as  displayed  in 
a fit  of  intoxication ; it  is  the  more  insidious,  permanent 
and  fatal  effects  of  intemperance,  as  exemplified  in  the  case 
of  the  habitual  dram-drinker,  to  which  I wish  to  call  your 
attention. 


323]  DR.  sewall’s  address  3 

I.  The  effects  of  ardent  spirit  on  the  moral  powers.  It 
is  perhaps  difficult  to  determine  in  what  way  intemperance 
first  manifests  its  influence  on  the  moral  powers,  so  va- 
riously does  it  affect  different  individuals.  Were  I to  speak 
from  my  own  observation,  I should  say  that  it  first  appears 
in  an  alienation  of  those  kind  and  tender  sympathies  which 
bind  a man  to  his  family  and  friends;  those  lively  sensibili- 
ties which  enable  him  to  participate  in  the  joys  and  sor- 
rows of  those  around  him.  “ The  social  affections  lose 
their  fulness  and  tenderness,  the  conscience  its  power,  the 
heart  its  sensibility,  till  all  that  was  once  lovely,  and  rendered 
him  the  joy  and  the  idol  of  his  friends,  retires,”  and  leaves 
him  to  the  dominion  of  the  appetites  and  passions  of  the 
brute.  “ Religious  enjoyment,  if  he  ever  possessed  any, 
declines  as  the  emotions  excited  by  ardent  spirit  arise.’ 
He  loses,  by  degrees,  his  regard  to  truth  and  to  the  fulfilment 
of  his  engagements — he  forgets  the  Sabbath  and  the  house 
of  worship,  and  lounges  upon  his  bed,  or  lingers  at  the 
tavern.  He  lays  aside  his  Bible — his  family  devotion  is  not 
heard,  and  his  closet  no  longer  listens  to  the  silent  whispers 
of  prayer.  He  at  length  becomes  irritable,  peevish,  and  pro- 
fane ; and  is  finally  lost  to  every  thing  that  respects  decorum 
in  appearance,  or  virtue  in  principle  ; and  it  is  lamentable 
to  mark  the  steps  of  that  process  by  which  the  virtuous  and 
elevated  man  sinks  to  ruin. 

II.  Its  effects  on  the  intellectual  powers.  Here  the  in- 
fluence of  intemperance  is  marked  and  decisive.  The  in- 
ebriate first  loses  his  vivacity  and  natural  acuteness  of  per- 
ception. His  judgment  becomes  clouded  and  impaired  in 
its  strength,  the  memory  also  enfeebled  and  sometimes  quite 
obliterated.  The  mind  is  wandering  and  vacant,  and  incapa- 
ble of  intense  or  steady  application  to  any  one  subject.  This 
state  is  usually  accompanied  by  an  unmeaning  stare  or 
fixedness  of  countenance  quite  peculiar  to  the  drunkard. 
The  imagination  and  the  will,  if  not  enfeebled,  acquire  a 
morbid  sensibility,  from  which  they  are  thrown  into  a state 
of  violent  excitement  from  the  slightest  causes : hence  the 
inebriate  sheds  floods  of  tears  over  the  pictures  of  his  own 
fancy.  I have  often  seen  him,  and  especially  on  his  re- 
covery from  a fit  of  intoxication,  weep  and  laugh  alternately 
over  the  same  scene.  The  will,  too,  acquires  an  omnipo- 
tent ascendency  over  him,  and  is  the  only  monitor  to  which 


4 


DR.  SEWALL’s  address. 


[324 


he  yields  obedience.  The  appeals  of  conscience,  the  claims 
of  domestic  happiness,  of  wives  and  children,  of  patriotism 
and  of  virtue,  are  not  heard. 

The  difl'erent  powers  of  the  mind  having  thus  lost  their 
natural  relation  to  each  other,  the  healthy  balance  being  de- 
stroyed, the  intellect  is  no  longer  fit  for  Intense  application, 
or  successful  effort — and  although  the  inebriate  ma}',  and 
sometimes  does,  astonish,  by  the  wildness  of  his  fancy  and 
the  poignancy  of  his  wit,  yet  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten  he 
fails,  and  there  is  never  any  confidence  to  be  reposed  in  him. 
There  have  been  a few  who,  from  peculiarity  of  constitu- 
tion, or  some  other  cause,  have  continued  to'perform  intel- 
lectual labor  for  many  years,  while  slaves  to  ardent  spirits ; 
but  in  no  instance  has  the  vigor  of  the  intellect  or  its  ability 
to  labor  been  increased  by  indulgence : and  where  there  is 
one  who  has  been  able  to  struggle  on  under  the  habits  of 
intemperance,  there  are  thousands  who  have  perished  in  the 
experiment,  and  some  among  the  most  powerful  minds  that 
the  world  ever  produced.  On  the  other  hand,  we  shall  find, 
by  looking  over  the  biography  of  the  great  men  of  every 
age,  that  those  who  have  possessed  the  clearest  and  most 
powerful  minds,  neither  drank  spirits  nor  indulged  in  the 
pleasures  of  the  table.  Sir  Isaac  Newton,  John  Locke, 
Dr.  Franklin,  John  Wesley,  Sir  William  Jones,  John 
Fletcher,  and  President  Edwards,  furnish  a striking  illus- 
tration of  this  truth.  One  of  the  secrets  by  which  these 
men  produced  such  astonishing  results,  were  enabled  to  per- 
form so  much  intellectual  labor,  and  of  so  high  a grade, 
and  to  arrive  at  old  age  in  the  enjoyment  of  health,  was  a 
rigid  course  of  abstinence.  But  I hasten  to  consider  more 
particularly, 

III.  Its  effects  on  the  p/iysicaZ^JOteers.  In  view  of  this 
part  of  the  subject,  the  attention  of  the  critical  observer  is 
arrested  by  a series  of  circumstances,  alike  disgusting  and 
melancholy. 

1.  The  odor  of  the  breath  of  the  drunkard  furnishes 
the  earliest  indication  by  which  the  habitual  use  of  ardent 
spirit  becomes  known.  This  is  occasioned  by  the  exhala- 
tion of  the  alcoholic  principle  from  the  bronchial  vessels 
and  air-cells  of  the  lungs — not  of  pure  spirit,  as  taken  into 
the  stomach,  but  of  spirit  which  has  been  absorbed,  has 
mingled  with  the  blood,  and  has  been  subjected  to  the  ac- 


325]  DB.  sewall’s  address.  S 

tion  of  the  different  organs  of  the  body ; and  not  containing 
any  principle  which  contributes  to  the  nourishment  or  reno- 
vation of  the  system,  is  cast  out  with  the  other  excretions, 
as  poisonous  and  hurtful;  and  this  peculiar  odor  does  not 
arise  from  the  accidental  or  occasional  use  of  spirit ; it 
marks  only  the  habitual  dram-drinker — the  one  who  indul- 
ges daily  in  his  potation  ; and  although  its  density  varies  in 
some  degree  with  the  kind  of  spirit  consumed,  the  habits 
and  constitution  of  the  individual,  yet  it  bears  generally  a 
close  relation  to  the  degree  of  intemperance.  These  obser- 
vations are  confirmed  by  some  experiments  made  on  living 
animals  by  the  celebrated  French  physiologist,  Magendie. 
He  ascertained  that  diluted  alcohol,  a solution  of  camphor, 
and  some  other  odorous  substances,  when  subjected  to  the 
absorbing  power  of  the  veins,  are  taken  up  by  them,  and 
after  mingling  with  the  blood,  pass  off  by  the  pulmonary 
exhalants.  Even  phosphorus  injected  into  the  crural  vein 
of  a dog,  he  found  to  pass  ofi’  in  a few  moments  from  the 
nostrils  of  the  animal  in  a dense  white  vapor,  which  he 
ascertained  to  be  phosphoric  acid.  Cases  have  occurred, 
in  which  the  breath  of  the  drunkard  has  become  so  highly 
charged  with  alcohol  as  to  render  it  actually  inflammable 
by  the  touch  of  a taper..  One  individual  in  particular  is 
mentioned,  who  often  amused  his  comrades  by  passing  his 
breath  through  a small  tube,  and  setting  it  on  fire  as  it  is- 
sued from  it.  It  appears,  also,  that  this  has  been  the  source 
of  that  combustion  of  the  body  of  the  drunkard  which  has 
been  denominated  spontaneous ; many  well  authenticated 
cases  of  which  are  on  record, 

2.  The  perspirable  matter  which  passes  off  from  the  skin 
becomes  charged  with  the  odor  of  alcohol  in  the  drunkard, 
and  is  so  far  changed  in  some  cases  as  to  furnish  evidence 
of  the  kind  of  spirit  drank.  I have  met  with  two  instances, 
says  Dr.  McNish,  the  one  in  a claret,  and  the  other  in  a 
port  drinker;  in  which  the  moisture  that  exhaled  from  their 
bodies  had  a ruddy  complexion,  similar  to  the  wine  on  which 
they  had  committed  their  debauch. 

3.  The  whole  system  soon  bears  marks  of  debility  and 
decay.  The  voluntary  muscles  lose  their  power,  and  cease 
to  act  under  the  control  of  the  will ; and  hence  all  the 
movements  become  awkward,  exhibiting  the  appearance  of 
stiffness  in  the  joints.  The  positions  of  the  body,  also,  are 


6 


DR.  SEWALL’s  address. 


[326 

tottering  and  infirm,  and  the  step  loses  its  elasticity  and  vigor. 
The  muscles,  and  especially  those  of  the  face  and  lips,  are 
often  affected  with  a convulsive  twitching,  whicli  produces 
the  involuntary  winking  of  the  eye,  and  quivering  of  the  lip, 
so  characteristic  of  the  intemperate.  Indeed,  all  the  mo- 
tions seem  unnatural  and  forced,  as  if  restrained  by  some 
power  within.  The  extremities  are  at  length  seized  with  a 
tremor,  which  is  more  strongly  marked  after  recovery  from 
a fit  of  intoxication.  The  lips  lose  their  significant  expres- 
sion, and  become  sensual — the  complexion  assumes  a sickly 
leaden  hue,  or  is  changed  to  an  unhealthy,  fiery  redness, 
and  is  covered  with  red  streaks  and  blotches.  The  eye  be- 
comes watery,  tender,  and  inflamed,  and  loses  its  intelligence 
and  its  fire.  These  symptoms,  together  with  a certain  oede- 
matous  appearance  about  the  eye,  bloating  of  the  whole  bodj', 
with  a diy,  feverish  skin,  seldom  fail  to  mark  the  habitual 
dram-drinker ; and  they  go  on  increasing  and  increasing,  till 
the  intelligence  and  dignity  of  the  man  is  lost  in  the  tame- 
ness and  sensuality  of  the  brute. 

But  these  eflects,  which  are  external  and  obvious,  are 
only  the  ‘‘signals  which  nature  holds  out,  and  waves  in  to- 
ken of  internal  distress;”  for  all  the  time  the  inebriate  has 
been  pouring  down  his  daily  drauglit  and  making  merry  over 
the  cup,  morbid  changes  have  been  going  on  within  ; and 
though  these  are  unseen,  and  it  may  be,  unsuspected,  they 
are  fatal,  irretrievable.  A few  of  the  most  important  of 
these  changes  I shall  now  describe; 

4.  The  s/omac/i  and  its  functions.  This  is  the  great  organ 
of  digestion.  It  is  the  chief  instrument  by  which  food  is 
prepared  to  nourish,  sustain  and  renovate  the  different  tis- 
sues of  the  body,  to  carry  on  the  various  functions,  and  to 
supply  the  waste  which  continually  takes  place  in  the  sys- 
tem. It  is  not  strange,  therefore,  that  the  habitual  applica- 
tion to  the  oi'gan  of  any  agent,  calculated  to  derange  its 
functions,  or  change  its  organization,  should  be  follow'ed  by 
symptoms  so  various  and  extensive,  and  by  consequences 
so  fatal.  The  use  of  ardent  spirit  produces  both  these  ef- 
fects; it  deranges  the  functions  of  the  stomach,  and  if  per- 
sisted in,  seldom  fails  to  change  its  organic  structure. 

The  inebriate  first  loses  his  appetite,  and  becomes  thirsty 
and  feverish;  he  vomits  in  the  morning,  and  is  afl'ected  with 
spasmodic  pains  in  the  region  of  the  stomach.  He  is  often 


337] 


DR.  SEWALl’s  address. 


7 


seized  with  permanent  dyspepsia,  and  either  wastes  away 
by  degrees,  or  dies  suddenly  of  a fit  of  cramp  in  the  stomach. 

On  examining  tlie  stomach  after  deatl),  it  is  generaliy 
found  irritated,  and  approaching  a state  of  inflammation,  with 
its  vessels  enlarged,  and  filled  with  black  blood  ; and  particu- 
larly those  of  the  mucous  coat,  which  gives  to  the  internal 
surface  of  the  stomach  the  appearance  of  purple  or  reddish 
streaks,  resembling  the  livid  patches  seen  on  the  face  of  the 
drunkard. 

The  coats  of  the  stomach  become  greatly  thickened  and 
corrugated,  and  so  firmly  united  as  to  form  one  inseparable 
mass.  In  this  state,  the  walls  of  the  organ  are  sometimes 
increased  in  thickness  to  the  extent  of  ten  or  twelve  lines, 
and  are  sometimes  found  also  in  a scirrhous  or  cancerous 
condition. 

The  following  case  occurred  in  my  practice  several  years 
since:  A middle-aged  gentleman,  of  wealth  and  standing, 
had  long  been  accustomed  to  mingle  in  the  convivial  circle, 
and  though  by  no  means  a drunkard,  had  indulged  at  times 
in  the  use  of  his  old  cogniac,  with  an  unsparing  hand.  He 
was  at  length  seized  with  pain  in  the  region  of  the  stomach, 
and  a vomiting  of  his  food  an  hour  or  two  after  eating.  In 
about  eighteen  months  ho  died  in  a state  of  extreme  ema- 
ciatien. 

On  opening  the  body  after  death,  the  walls  of  the  whole 
of  the  right  extremity  of  the  stomach  were  found  in  a scir- 
rhous and  cancerous  condition,  and  thickened  to  the  extent 
of  about  two  inches.  The  cavity  of  the  organ  was  so  far 
obliterated  as  scarcely  to  admit  the  passage  of  a probe  from 
the  left  to  the  right  extremity,  and  the  opening  which  re- 
mained was  so  unequal  and  irregular  as  to  render  it  evident 
that  but  little  of  the  nourishment  he  had  received  could  have 
passed  the  lower  orifice  of  the  stomach  for  many  months. 

I have  never  dissected  the  stomach  of  a drunkard,  in 
which  the  organ  did  not  manifest  some  remarkable  deviation 
from  its  healthy  condition.  But  the  derangement  of  the 
stomach  is  not  limited  to  the  function  of  nutrition  merely. 
This  organ  is  closely  united  to  every  other  organ,  and  to 
each  individual  tissue  of  the  body,  by  its  sympathetic  rela- 
tions. When  the  stomach,  therefore,  becomes  diseased, 
other  parts  suffer  with  it.  The  functions  of  the  brain,  the 
heart,  the  lungs,  and  the  liver  become  disordered  ; the  secre- 


8 DR.  sewall’s  address.  [328 

tions  are  altered,  and  all  the  operations  of  the  animal  econo- 
my are  more  or  less  affected. 

5.  The  liver  and  its  functions.  Alcohol,  in  every  form 
and  proportion,  has  long  been  known  to  exert  a strong  and 
speedy  influence  on  this  organ,  when  used  internally’.  A- 
ware  of  this  fact,  the  poultry-dealers  of  England  are  in  tlie 
habit  of  mixing  a quantity  of  spirit  with  the  food  of  their  fowls, 
in  order  to  increase  the  size  of  the  liver ; so  that  they  may  be 
enabled  to  supply  to  the  epicure  a greater  abundance  of  that 
part  of  the  animal,  which  he  regards  as  the  most  delicious. 

The  influence  of  spirit  on  the  liver  is  exerted  in  two  ways: 
First,  the  impression  made  upon  the  mucous  coat  of  the 
stomach  is  extended  to  the  liver  by  sympathy : the  second 
mode  of  action  is  through  the  medium  of  the  circulation,  and 
by  the  immediate  action  of  the  alcoholic  principle  on  the 
liver  itself,  as  it  passes  through  the  organ,  mingling  with  the 
blood.  In  whichsoever  of  these  ways  it  operates,  its  first 
effect  is  to  increase  tlie  action  of  the  liver,  and  sometimes 
to  such  a degree  as  to  produce  inflammation.  Its  secretion 
becomes  changed  from  a bright  yellow  to  a green  or  black, 
and  from  a thin  fluid  to  a substance  resembling  tar  in  its 
consistence.  There  soon  follows  also  an  enlargement  of 
the  liver  and  a change  in  its  organic  structure.  I liave  met 
with  several  cases  in  which  the  liver  has  become  enlarged 
from  intemperance,  so  as  to  occupy  a greater  part  of  the 
cavity  of  the  abdomen,  and  weighing  from  eight  to  twelve 
pounds,  wlien  it  should  have  weighed  not  more  than  four 
or  five. 

The  liver  sometimes,  however,  even  when  it  manifests 
great  morbid  change  in  its  organic  structure,  is  rather  dimi- 
nished than  increased  in  its  volume.  This  was  the  case  in 
the  person  of  the  celebrated  stage-actor,  George  Frederick 
Cook,  who  died  a few  y^ears  since  in  the  city  of  New-York. 
This  extraordinary  man  was  long  distinguished  for  the  pro- 
fligacy of  his  life,  as  well  as  for  the  native  vigor  of  his  mind 
and  body.  At  the  time  of  his  death  the  body’  was  opened 
by'  Dr.  Hosack,  who  found  that  the  liver  did  not  exceed  its 
usual  dimensions,  but  was  astonishingly  hard,  of  a lighter 
color  than  natural,  and  that  its  texture  was  so  dense  as  to 
make  considerable  resistance  to  the  knife.  The  blood-ves- 
sels, which  in  a healthy  condition  are  extremely  numerous 
and  large,  were  in  this  case  nearly  obliterated,  evincing  that 


DR.  SEWALl’s  address. 


9 


329] 

the  regular  circulation  through  the  liver,  had  long  since 
ceased ; and  tubercles  were  found  throughout  the  whole 
substance  of  the  organ. 

I have  met  with  several  cases  in  the  course  of  my  dissec- 
tions, in  which  the  liver  was  found  smaller  than  natural, 
schrivelled,  indurated,  its  blood-vessels  diminished  in  size 
and  number,  with  the  whole  of  its  internal  structure  more 
or  less  changed.  In  consequence  of  these  morbid  changes 
in  the  liver,  other  organs  become  affected,  as  the  spleen, 
the  pancreas,  &c.  either  by  sympathy  or  in  consequence  of 
their  dependence  on  the  healthy  functions  of  the  liver  for 
the  due  performance  of  their  own. 

6.  Of  the  Brain  and  its  functions.  Inflammation  and  en- 
gorgement of  this  organ  are  frequent  consequences  of  in- 
temperance, and  may  take  place  during  a debauch — or  may 
arise  some  time  after,  during  the  stage  of  debility,  from  a 
loss  of  the  healthy  balance  of  action  between  the  different 
parts  of  the  system.  This  inflammation  is  sometimes  acute, 
is  marked  by  furious  delirium,  and  te-rminates  fatally  in  the 
course  of  a few  days,  and  sometimes  a few  hours.  At  other 
times  it  assumes  a chronic  form,  continues  much  longer, 
and  then  frequently  results  in  an  efl'usion  of  serum,  or  an 
extrav'asation  of  blood,  and  the  patient  dies  in  a state  of  in- 
sensibility, with  all  the  symptoms  of  compressed  brain. 
Sometimes  the  system  becomes  so  saturated  with  ardent 
spirit,  that  there  is  good  reason  to  believe,  the  effusions 
which  take  place  in  the  cavities  of  the  brain,  and  elsewhere, 
are  composed,  in  part  at  least,  of  the  alcoholic  principle. 
The  following  case  occurred,  not  long  since,  in  England, 
and  is  attested  by  unquestionable  authority. 

A man  was  taken  up  dead  in  the  streets  of  London,  soon 
after  having  drank  a quart  of  gin,  on  a wager.  He  was 
carried  to  the  Westminster  Hospital,  and  there  dissected. 
“In  the  ventricles  of  the  brain  was  found  a considerable 
quantity  of  limpid  fluid,  distinctly  impregnated  with  gin, 
both  to  the  sense  of  smell  and  taste,  and  even  to  the  test  of 
inflammability.  The  liquid  appeared  to  the  senses  of  the 
examining  students,  as  strong  as  one-third  gin,  and  two- 
thirds  water.” 

Dr.  Armstrong,  who  has  enjoyed  very  ample  opportunity 
of  investigating  this  subject,  speaks  of  the  chronic  Inflamma- 


10  DU.  sewall’s  address.  [330 

tion  of  the  brain  and  its  membranes,  as  frequently  proceed- 
ing from  the  free  use  of  strong  liquors. 

It  is  a fact  familiar  to  every  anatomist,  that  alcohol,  even 
when  greatly  diluted,  has,  by  its  action  on  the  brain  after 
death,  the  effect  of  hardening  it,  as  well  as  most  of  the  tis- 
sues of  the  body  which  contain  albumen,  and  it  is  common 
to  immerse  the  brain  in  ardent  spirit  for  a few  daN’s,  in  order 
to  render  it  the  firmer  for  dissection. 

On  examining  the  brain  after  death  of  such  as  have  long 
been  accustomed  to  the  free  use  of  ardent  spirit,  it  is  said 
the  organ  is  generally  found  harder  than  in  temperate  per 
sons.  It  has  no  longer  that  delicate  and  elastic  texture 
Its  arteries  become  diminished  in  size,  and  lose  their  transpa- 
rency, while  the  veins  and  sinuses  are  greatly  distended  and 
irregularly  enlarged. 

This  statement  is  confirmed  by  my  own  dissections,  and 
they  seem  also  to  be  in  full  accordance  with  all  the  intellectual 
and  physical  phenomena  displayed  in  the  drunkard,  while 
living. 

7.  The  heart  and  its  functions.  It  has  generally  been 
supposed,  that  the  heart  is  less  frequently  affected  by  in- 
temperance, than  most  of  the  other  great  vital  organs;  but, 
from  the  history  of  the  cases  which  have  come  under  ni}' 
own  observation,  I am  convinced  that  it  seldom  escapes  dis- 
ease under  the  habitual  use  of  ardent  spirit.  And  why 
should  it,  since  it  is  thrown  almost  perpetually  into  a state 
of  unnatural  exertion,  the  very  effect  produced  b}'  the  vio- 
lent agitation  of  the  passions,  the  influence  of  which  upon 
this  organ  is  found  so  injurious  I 

The  following  case  came  under  my  notice,  a few  winters 
since.  A large  athletic  man,  long  accustomed  to  the  use  of 
ardent  spirit,  on  drinking  a glass  of  raw  whisket’,  dropped 
instantly  dead.  On  carefully  dissecting  the  bod}-,  no  ade- 
quate cause  of  the  sudden  cessation  of  life  could  be  found 
in  any  part,  except  the  heart.  This  organ  was  free  from 
blood,  was  hard  and  firmly  contracted,  as  if  affected  by 
spasm.  I am  convinced  that  many  of  those  cases  of  sudden 
death  which  take  place  with  intemperate  persons,  are  the  re- 
sult of  a spasmodic  action  of  the  heart,  from  sympathy  with 
the  stomach,  or  some  other  part  of  the  system.  The  use  of 
ardent  spirit,  no  doubt,  promotes  also  the  ossification  of  the 


DR.  SEWALl’s  address. 


II 


33Jj 

valves  of  the  heart,  as  well  as  the  developement  of  other 
organic  affections. 

8.  The  lungs  and  their  functions.  Respiration  in  the  ine- 
briate is  generally  oppressed  and  laborious,  and  especially 
after  eating  or  violent  exercise ; and  he  is  teased  with  a 
cough,  attended  with  copious  expectoration,  and  especially 
after  his  recovery  from  a fit  of  intoxication;  and  these 
symptoms  go  on  increasing,  and  unless  arrested  in  their  pro- 
gress, terminate  in  consumption. 

This  affection  of  the  lungs  is  produced  in  two  ways  ; first, 
by  the  immediate  action  of  the  alcoholic  principle  upon  the 
highly  sensible  membrane  which  lines  the  trachea,  bronchial 
vessels,  and  air-cells  of  the  lungs,  as  poured  out  by  the  ex- 
halanls ; and  second,  by  the  sympathy  which  is  called  into 
action  between  the  lungs  and  other  organs  already  in  a state 
of  disease,  and  more  especially  that  of  the  stomach  and  liver. 

I have  met  with  many  cases,  in  the  course  of  my  practice, 
of  cough  and  difficult  breathing,  which  could  be  relieved  only 
by  regulating  the  functions  of  the  stomacli,  and  which  soon 
yielded,  on  the  patient  ceasing  to  irritate  this  organ  with 
ardent  spirit.  I have  found  the  liver  still  more  frequently 
the  source  of  this  affection ; and  on  restoring  the  organ  to  its 
healthy  condition,  by  laying  aside  the  use  of  ardent  spirit, 
all  the  pulmonary  symptoms  have  subsided. 

On  examining  the  lungs  of  the  drunkard  after  death,  they 
are  frequently  found  adhering  to  the  wali-s  of  tlie  chest ; 
hepatized,  or  affected  with  tubercles. 

But  time  would  fail  me,  were  I to  attempt  an  account  of 
half  the  patliology  of  drunkenness.  Dyspepsia,  Jaundice, 
Emaciation,  Corpulence,  Dropsy,  Ulcers,  Rheumatism,.  Gout, 
Tremors,  Palpitation,  Hysteria,  Epilepsy,  Palsy,  Letha.rg'y, 
Apoplexy,  Melancholy,  Madness,  Deliriuin-trcmens,  and  Pre- 
mature old  age,  compose  but  a small  part  of  the  catalogue 
of  diseases  produced  by  ardent  spirit.  Indeed,  there  is 
scarcely  a morbid  affection  to  which  the  human  body  is 
liable,  that  has  not,  in  one  way  pr  another,  been  produced 
by  it ; there  is  not  a disease  but  it  has  aggravated,  nor  a 
predisposition  to  disease,  which  it  has  not  called  into  action ; 
and  although  its  effects  are  in  some  degree  modified  by  age 
and  temperament,  by  habit  and  occupation,  by  climate  and 
season  of  the  year,  and  even  by  the  intoxicating  agent  itselfj 
yet,  the  general  and  ultimate  consequences  are  the  same. 


12 


DR.  SEWALI.’S  ADDRESS. 


[332 


But  I pass  on  to  notice  one  state  of  the  system,  produced 
by  ardent  spirit,  too  important  and  interesting  to  leave 
unexamined.  It  is  that  predisposition  to  disease  and  death 
which  so  strongly  characterizes  the  drunkard  in  every  situa- 
tion of  life. 

It  is  unquestionably  true,  that  many  of  the  surrounding 
objects  in  nature  are  constantly  tending  to  man’s  destruc- 
tion. The  excess  of  heat  and  cold,  humidity  and  dryness, 
noxious  exhalations  from  the  earth,  the  floating  atoms  in  tlie 
atmosphere,  the  poisonous  vapors  from  decomposed  animal 
and  vegetable  matter,  with  many  other  invisible  agents,  are 
exerting  their  deadly  influence;  and  w’ere  it  not  that  every 
part  of  his  system  is  endowed  with  a self-preserving  power, 
a principle  of  excitability,  or  in  other  words,  a vital  princi- 
ple, the  operations  of  the  economy  would  cease,  and  a dis- 
solution of  his  organic  structure  take  place.  But  this  princi- 
ple being  implanted  in  the  sj'stem,  re-action  takes  place, 
and  thereby  a vigorous  contest  is  maintained  with  the  war- 
ring elements  without,  as  well  as  with  the  principle  of  decay 
within. 

It  is  thus  that  man  is  enabled  to  endure,  from  year  to  3'ear, 
the  toils  and  fatigues  of  life,  the  variations  of  heat  and  cold, 
and  the  vicissitudes  of  the  seasons — that  he  is  enabled  to 
traverse  every  region  of  the  globe,  and  to  live  with,  almost 
equal  ease  under  the  equator  and  in  the  frozen  regions  of 
the  north.  It  is  by  this  power  that  all  his  functions  ate 
performed,  from  the  commencement  to  the  close  of  life. 

The  principle  of  excitability  exists  in  the  highest  degree 
in  the  infant,  and  diminishe-3  at  every  succeeding  period  of 
life  ; and  if  man  is  not  cut  down  by  disease  or  violence,  he 
struggles  on,  and  finally  dies  a natural  death ; a death 
occasioned  by  the  exhaustion  of  the  principle  of  excita- 
bility. In  order  to  prevent  the  too  rapid  exhaustion  of  this 
principle,  nature  has  especially  provided  for  its  restoratioii 
by  establishing  a period  of  sleep.  After  being  awake  foi 
sixteen  or  eighteen  hours,  a sensation  of  fatigue  ensues,  and 
all  the  functions  are  performed  with  diminished  precision 
and  energy.  Locomotion  becomes  feeble  and  tottering,  the 
voice  harsh,  the  intellect  obtuse  and  powerless,  and  all  the 
senses  blunted.  In  this  state  the  individual  anxiousl}'  re- 
tires from  the  light  and  from  the  noise  and  bustle  of  busi- 
ness, seeks  that  position  which  requires  the  least  eflbrt  to 


333] 


DR.  SEWALl’s  address. 


13 


sustain  it,  and  abandons  himself  to  rest.  The  will  ceases 
to  act,  and  he  loses  in  succession  all  the  senses ; the  mus- 
cles unbend  themselves  and  permit  the  limbs  to  fall  into  the 
most  easy  and  natural  position  ; digestion,  respiration,  cir- 
culation, secretion,  and  the  other  functions,  go  on  with  di- 
minished power  and  activity  ; and  consequently  the  wasted 
excitability  is  gradually  restored.  x\fter  a repose  of  six 
or  eight  hours,  this  principle  becomes  accumulated  to  its 
fwll  measure  and  the  individual  awakes  and  finds  his  system 
invigorated  and  refreshed.  His  muscular  power  is  augment- 
ed, his  senses  are  acute  and  discriminating,  his  intellect  ac- 
tive and  eager  for  labor,  and  all  his  functions  move  on  with 
renewed  energy.  But  if  the  stomach  be  oppressed  by  food, 
or  the  system  excited  by  stimulating  drinks,  the  sleep, 
though  it  may  be  profound,  is  never  tranquil  and  refreshing. 

The  system  being  raised  to  a state  of  feverish  excite- 
ment, and  its  healthy  balance  disturbed,  its  exhausted  exci- 
tability is  not  restored.  The  individual  awakes,  but  finds 
himself  fatigued  rather  than  invigorated.  His  muscles  are 
relaxed,  his  senses  obtuse,  his  intellect  impaired,  and  his 
whole  system  disordered ; and  it  is  not  till  he  is  again  under 
the  influence  of  food  and  stimulus  that  he  is  fit  for  the  occu- 
pations of  life.  And  thus  he  loses  the  benefits  of  this  wise 
provision  of  repose  designed  for  his  own  preservation. 

Nothing,  probably,  tends  more  powerfully  to  produce  pre- 
mature old  age  than  disturbed  and  unrefreshing  sleep. 

It  is  also  true  that  artificial  stimulus,  in  whatever  way 
applied,  tends  constantly  to  exhaust  the  pri-nciple  of  exci- 
tability of  the  S3^stem,  and  this  in  proportion  to  its  intensi- 
ty, and  the  freedom  with  which  it  is  applied. 

But  there  is  still  another  principle  on  which  the  use  of 
ardent  spirit  predisposes  the  drunkard  to  disease  and  death. 
It  acts  on  the  blood,  impairs  its  vitality,  deprives  it  of  its 
red  color,  and  thereby  renders  it  unfit  to  stimulate  the 
heart,  and  other  organs  through  which  it  circulates ; unfit, 
also,  to  supply  the  materials  for  the  different  secretions,  and 
to  renovate  the  different  tissues  of  the  body,  as  well  as  to 
sustain  the  energy  of  the  brain  ; offices  which  it  can  per- 
form only  while  it  retains  the  vermilion  color,  and  other 
arterial  properties.  The  blood  of  the  drunkard  is  several 
shades  darker  in  its  color,  than  that  of  temperate  persons, 


Vol.  8. 


P 


14 


DR.  SEWALL’s  address. 


[334 


and  also  coagulates  less  readily  and  firmly,  and  is  loaded 
with  serum;  appearances  which  indicate  that  it  has  ex- 
changed its  arterial  properties  for  those  of  the  venous  blood. 
This  is  tlie  cause  of  the  livid  complexion  of  the  inebriate, 
which  so  strongly  marks  him  in  the  advanced  stage  of  in- 
temperance. Hence,  too,  all  the  functions  of  his  body  are 
sluggish,  irregular,  and  the  whole  system  loses  its  tone 
and  its  energy.  If  ardent  spirit,  when  taken  into  the 
system,  exhausts  the  vital  principle  of  the  solids,  it  destroys 
the  vital  principle  of  the  blood  also;  and  if  taken  in  large 
quantities,  produces  sudden  death  ; in  which  case  the  blood, 
as  in  death  produced  b}'  lightning,  by  opium,  or  by  violent 
and  long  continued  exertion,  does  not  coagulate. 

The  principles  laid  down  are  plain,  and  of  easy  appli- 
cation to  the  case  before  us. 

The  inebriate  having,  by  the  habitual  use  of  ardent  spirit, 
exhausted  to  a greater  or  lesser  extent  the  principle  of  ex- 
citability in  the  solids,  the  power  of  reaction ; and  the 
blood  having  become  incapable  of  performing  its  offices 
also,  he  is  alike  predisposed  to  every  disease,  and  render- 
ed liable  to  the  inroads  of  every  invading  foe.  So  far, 
therefore,  from  protecting  the  system  against  disease,  in- 
temperance ever  constitutes  one  of  its  strongest  predi''- 
posing  causes. 

Superadded  to  this,  whenever  disease  does  lay  its  grasp 
upon  the  drunkard,  the  powers  of  life  being  already  en- 
feebled by  the  stimulus  of  ardent  spirit,  he  unexpectedly 
sinks  in  the  contest,  and  but  too  frequently  to  the  mortifica- 
tion of  his  physician,  and  the  surprise  and  grief  of  his 
fiiends.  Indeed,  inebriation  so  enfeebles  the  powers  of 
life,  so  modifies  the  character  of  disease,  and  so  changes 
the  operation  of  medical  agents,  that  unless  tlie  young 
physician  has  studied  thoroughly  the  constitution  of  the 
drunkard,  he  has  but  partiall}'  learned  his  profession,  and 
is  not  fit  for  a practitioner  of  the  present  age. 

These  are  the  true  reasons  wh\'  the  drunkard  dies  so 
easily,  and  from  such  slight  causes. 

A sudden  cold,  a pleurisy,  a fever,  a fractured  limb,  or  a 
slight  wound  of  the  skin,  is  often  more  than  his  shattered 
powers  can  endure.  Even  a little  excess  of  exertion,  an 
exposure  to  heat  or  cold,  a hearty  repast  or  a glass  of  cold 


DR,  SEWALL’s  address. 


15 


335] 


water,  not  iinfrequently  extinguishes  the  small  remains  of 
the  vita!  principle. 

In  the  season  that  hqs  Just  closed  upon  us,  we  have  had 
a melancholy  exhibition  of  the  efiects  of  intemperance  in 
the  tragical  death  of  some  dozens  of  our  fellow-citizens; 
and  had  the  extreme  heat  which  prevailed  for  several  days 
continued  for  as  many  weeks,  we  should  hardly  have  had  a 
confirmed  drunkard  left  among  us. 

Many  of  those  deaths  which  came  under  my  notice 
seemed  almost  spontaneous,  and  some  of  them  took  place 
in  less  tlian  one  hour  from  tlie  first  symptoms  of  in- 
disposition. Some  died  apparently  from  a slight  excess  of 
fatigue,  some  from  a few  hours’  e.xposure  to  the  sun,  and 
some  from  a small  draught  of  cold  water ; causes  quite  in- 
adequate to  the  production  of  such  effects  in  temperate 
persons. 

Thus,  fellow-citizens,  I have  endeavored  to  delineate 
the  effects  of  ardent  spirit  upon  man,  and  more  especially 
to  portray  its  influence  on  his  moral,  intellectual,  and  phy- 
sical powers.  And  now  let  me  mention  a few  things 
which  must  be  done  in  order  that  the  evil  may  be  era- 
dicated. 

1.  Let  us  keep  in  view  the  objects  of  this  Societ}',  and 
the  obligation  imposed  on  us,  to  wse  all  proper  measures  to 
discourage  the  use  of  ardent  spirit  in  the  social  circle,  at 
public  meetings,  on  the  farm,  in  the  mechanic  shop,  and  in  all 
other  places.  It  is  not  a mere  matter  of  formality  that  we 
have  put  our  names  to  tliis  Society’s  constitution ; we  have 
pledged  ourselves  to  be  bold,  active,  and  persevering  in  the 
cause;  to  proclaim  the  dangers  of  intemperance  to  our 
fellow-citizens,  and  to  do  what  we  can  to  arrest  its  progress. 

In  view  of  these  objects  and  of  this  pledge,  then,  let  us, 
if  indeed  we  have  not  already  done  it,  banish  ardent  spirit 
from  our  houses  at  once,  tmd  for  ever,  and  then  we  can  act 
with  decision  and  energy,  and  speak  in  a tone  of  authority, 
and  our  voice  will  be  heard,  if  precept  be  sanctioned  by 
example. 

2.  Let  us  use  our  utmost  endeavors  to  lessen  the  number, 
and,  if  possible,  utterly  exterminate  from  among  us  those 
establishments  which  are  the  chief  agents  in  propagating 
the  evils  of  intemperance.  I refer  to  those  shops  which  are 
licensed  for  retailing  ardent  spirit.  Here  is  the  source  of 


DR.  SEWALl’s  address. 


16 


[336 


the  evil.  These  are  the  agents  that  are  sowing  among  us 
the  seeds  of  vice,  and  poverty  and  wretchedness. 

How  preposterous  ! that  an  enlightened  community,  pro- 
fessing the  highest  regard  for  morality  and  religion,  making 
laws  for  the  suppression  and  punishment  of  vice,  and  the 
promotion  of  virtue  and  good  order,  instituting  societies  to 
encourage  industry,  enlighten  the  ignorant,  reclaim  the  vi- 
cious, bring  back  the  wanderer,  protect  the  orphan,  feed 
the  hungr}',  clothe  the  naked,  bind  up  the  broken-hearted, 
and  restore  domestic  peace,  should,  at  the  same  time,  create 
and  foster  those  very  means  that  carry  idleness,  and  igno- 
rance, and  vice,  and  nakedness,  and  starvation,  and  discord 
into  all  ranks  of  society ; that  make  widows  and  orphans, 
that  sow  the  seeds  of  disease  and  death  among  us ; tliat 
strike,  indeed,  at  the  foundation  of  all  that  is  good  and  great. 

You  create  paupers,  and  lodge  them  in  your  almshouse — 
orphans,  and  give  them  a residence  in  your  asylum — con- 
victs, and  send  them  to  the  penitentiaiy.  Y’ou  seduce  men 
to  crime,  and  then  arraign  them  at  the  bar  of  justice — im- 
mure them  in  prison.  With  one  hand  you  thrust  the  dag- 
ger to  the  heart — with  the  other  attempt  to  assuage  the  pain 
it  causes. 

We  all  remember  to  have  heard,  from  the  lips  of  our  pa- 
rents, the  narration  of  the  fact,  that  in  the  early  history  of 
our  country  the  tomahawk  and  scalping-knife  were  put 
into  the  hands  of  our  savage  neighbors,  by  our  enemies  at 
war,  and  that  a bounty  was  awarded  for  the  depredations 
they  committed  on  the  lives  of  our  defenceless  fellow-citi- 
zens. Our  feelings  were  shocked  at  the  recital,  and  a pre- 
judice was  created,  as  well  to  these  poor  wandering  savages, 
as  to  the  nation  that  prompted  them  to  the  work,  which 
neither  time  nor  education  has  eradicated.  Yet,  as  merci- 
less and  savage  as  this  practice  may  appear  to  us,  it  was 
Christian,  it  was  humane,  compared  with  ours  : theirs  sought 
only  the  life-blood,  and  that  of  their  enemies  ; ours  seeks 
the  blood  of  souls,  and  that  of  our  own  citizens,  and  friends, 
and  neighbors.  Their  avarice  was  satiated  with  a few  inches 
of  the  scalp,  and  the  death  inflicted  was  often  a sudden  and 
easy  one;  ours  produces  a death  that  lingers'  and  not 
content  with  the  lives  of  our  fellow-citizens,  it  rifles  their 
pockets.  It  revels  in  rapine  and  robbery  ; it  sacks  whole 
towns  and  villages ; it  lays  waste  fields  and  vineyards ; it 


DR.  SEWALL’s  address. 


17 


337] 


riots  on  domestic  peace,  and  virtue,  and  happiness;  it  sets  at 
variance  the  husband  and  the  wife  ; it  causes  the  parent  to 
forsake  tlie  child,  and  the  child  to  curse  the  parent ; it  tears 
asunder  the  strongest  bonds  of  society  ; it  severs  the  ten- 
derest  ties  of  nature. 

And  who  is  the  author  of  all  this  1 — and  where  lies  the  re- 
sponsibility ? I appeal  to  my  fellow-citizens ! 

Are  not  we  the  authors  } — does  not  the  responsibility  rest 
upon  us  ? — is  it  not  so  ? 

The  power  emanates  from  us  ; we  delegate  it  to  the  con- 
stituted authorities,  and  we  say  to  them  go  on,  “ cast  fire- 
brands, arrows,  and  death  and  let  the  blood  of  those  that 
perish  “ be  on  us  and  on  our  children.”  We  put  the  toma- 
Iiawk  and  scalping-knife  into  the  hands  of  our  neighbors,  and 
award  to  them  a bounty.  We  do  more — we  share  the  plun- 
der. Let  us  arouse,  my  fellow-citizens,  from  our  insensi- 
bility, and  redeem  our  character  for  consistency,  humanity, 
and  benevolence. 

3.  Let  us  not  confine  our  views  or  limit  our  operations 
to  the  narrow  boundaries  of  our  own  city  or  district.  In- 
temperance is  a common  enem}'.  It  exists  eveiy  where,  and 
every  where  is  pursuing  its  victims  to  destruction ; while, 
therefore,  we  are  actively  engaged  uiion  the  subject  in  our 
own  city,  let  us  endeavor  to  do  something  elsewhere  ; and 
much  may  be  done  by  spreading  through  our  country  cor- 
rect information  on  the  subject  of  intemperance.  To  this 
end,  every  newspaper  and  every  press  should  be  put  in  re- 
quisition. Circulate  through  the  various  avenues  suitable 
Tracts,  essays,  and  other  documents,  setting  forth  the  causes 
of  intemperance,  its  evils,  and  its  remedy,  together  with  an 
account  of  the  cheering  progress  now  making  to  eradicate  it. 

Do  this,  and  you  will  find  thousands  starting  up  in  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  country,  to  lend  their  influence,  and  give 
their  money  in  support  of  your  cause;  individuals  who  have 
hitherto  been  unconscious  of  the  extent  and  magnitude  of 
the  evil  of  intemperance;  you  will  find  some  who  have  been 
slumbering  upon  the  very  precipice  of  ruin,  rallying  round 
your  standard.  Indeed  we  have  all  been  insensible,  till  the 
voice  of  alarm  was  sounded,  and  the  facts  were  set  in  array 
before  us. 

4.  Appeal  to  the  medical  profession  of  the  country,  and 
ask  them  to  correct  the  false  idea  which  so  extensively,  I 


18 


DR.  SEWALL’s  address. 


[338 


may  say  almost  universally  prevails,  viz. : that  ardent  spirit 
is  sometimes  necessary  in  the  treatment  of  disease.  This 
opinion  has  slain  its  thousands  and  its  tens  of  thousands, 
and  multitudes  of  dram-drinkers  daily  shelter  themselves 
under  its  delusive  mask.  One  takes  a little  to  raise  his  des- 
ponding spirits,  or  to  drown  his  sorrow  ; another  to  sharpen 
his  appetite  or  relieve  his  dyspepsia ; one  to  ease  his  goutv 
pains,  another  to  supple  his  stifi'ened  limbs  or  calm  his  qui- 
vering muscles.  One  drinks  to  overcome  the  heat,  another 
to  ward  oft’  the  cold ; and  all  this  as  a medicine.  Appeal, 
then,  to  the  medical  profession,  and  they  will  tell  you,  every 
independent,  honest,  sober,  intelligent  member  of  it  will  tell 
you,  that  there  is  no  case  in  which  ardent  spirit  is  indis- 
pensable, and  for  which  there  is  not  an  adequate  substitute. 
And  it  is  time  the  jtrofession  should  have  an  opportunity 
to  exonerate  itself  from  the  chr.rge  under  which  it  has  long 
rested,  of  making  drunkards.  But  I entreat  my  professional 
brethren  not  to  be  content  with  giving  a mere  assent  to  this 
truth.  You  hold  a station  in  society  which  gives  you  a com- 
manding influence  on  this  subject;  and  if  you  will  but  raise 
your  voice  and  speak  out  boldly,  you  may  exert  an  agency 
in  this  matter  which  will  bring  down  the  blessings  of  un- 
born millions  upon  \’our  memory. 

5.  IMuch  may  be  done  by  guarding  the. risi/ty  generation 
from  the  contagion  of  intemperance.  It  is  especialh'  with 
the  children  and  t’outli  of  our  land,  that  we  may  expect  our 
efforts  to  be  pernvanently  useful.  Let  us,  then,  guard  with 
[leculiar  vigilance  the  youthful  mind,  and  with  all  suitable 
measures,  impress  it  with  such  sentiments  of  disgust  and 
horror  of  the  vice  of  intemperance,  as  to  cause  it  to  shrink 
from  its  very  approach.  Cany  the  subject  into  our  Infant 
and  Sunda}’’  Schools,  and  call  on  the  managers  and  teachers 
of  those  institutions,  to  aid  you  by  the  circulation  of  suitable 
Tracts,  and  by  such  other  instructions  as  may  be  deemed 
proper.  Let  the  rising  generation  be  protected  but  for  a 
i'ew  years,  and  the  present  race  of  drunkards  will  have  dis- 
appeared from  among  us,  and  there  will  be  no  new  recruits 
to  take  their  place. 

6.  Let  intelligent  and  efficient  agents  be  sent  out  into 
every  portion  of  our  countiy,  to  spread  abroad  information 
upon  tlie  subject  of  intemperance,  to  rouse  up  the  people 
to  a sense  of  their  danger,  and  to  form  temperance  societies ; 


339J 


DK.  SEWALl’s  address. 


19 


and  let  there  be  such  a system  of  correspondence  and  co- 
operation established  among  these  associations  as  will  con- 
vey information  to  each,  and  impart  energy  and  efficiency 
to  the  whole.  “No  great  melioration  of  the  human  condi- 
tion was  ever  achieved  without  the  concurrent  effort  of 
numbers  ; and  no  extended  and  well  directed  association  of 
moral  influence  was  ever  made  in  vain.” 

7.  Let  all  who  regard  the  virtue,  the  honor,  and  the 
patriotism  of  their  countr^^,  withold  their  suffrages  from  those 
candidates  for  office  who  offer  ardent  spirit  as  a bribe  to 
secure  their  elevation  to  power.  R is  derogatory  to  the 
liberties  of  our  country,  that  office  can  be  obtained  by  such 
corruption — be  held  by  such  a tenure. 

8.  Let  the  Ministers  of  the  Gospel,  wherever  called  to 
labor,  exert  their  influence,  by  precept  and  example,  in 
promoting  the  cause  of  temperance ; — many  of  them  have 
already  stepped  forth,  and  with  a noble  boldness  have  pro- 
claimed the  alarm,  and  have  led  on  in  the  work  of  reforma- 
tion ; but  many  timid  spirits  still  linger,  and  others  seem  not 
deeply  impressed  with  the  importance  of  the  subject,  and 
with  the  responsibility  of  their  station.  Ye  venerated  men, 
you  are  not  only  called  to  stand  forth  as  our  moral  beacons, 
and  be  unto  us  burning  and  shining  lights;  but  you  are 
placed  as  watchmen  upon  our  walls,  to  announce  to  us  the 
approach  of  danger.  It  is  mainly  through  your  example  and 
your  labors  that  religion  and  virtue  are  so  extensively  dis- 
seminated through  our  country — that  this  land  is  not  now  a 
moral  waste.  You  have  ever  exerted  an  important  influ- 
ence in  society,  and  have  held  a high  place  in  the  confidence 
and  affections  of  the  people.  You  are  widely  spread  over 
the  country,  and  the  scene  of  your  personal  labors  will  fur- 
nish you  with  frequent  opportunities  to  diffuse  information 
upon  the  subject  of  temperance,  and  to  advance  its  progress. 
Let  me  then  ask  you,  one  and  all,  to  grant  us  your  active 
and  hearty  co-operation. 

9.  Appeal  to  the  female  sex  of  our  country,  and  ask 
them  to  come  to  your  assistance;  and  if  they  will  consent 
to  steel  their  hearts  against  the  inebriate,  to  shut  out  from 
their  society  the  man  who  visits  the  tippling  shop,  their  in- 
fluence will  be  omnipotent  And  by  what  power,  ye  mothers, 
and  wives,  and  daughters,  shall  I invoke  your  aid?  Shall  I 
carry  you  to  the  house  of  the  drunkard,  and  point  you  to 


20 


DR.  SEWALl’s  address. 


[340 


his  weeping  and  broken-hearted  wife,  his  sufl'ering  and  de- 
graded children,  robed  in  rags,  and  povert}’,  and  vice  ? Shall 
I go  with  you  to  the  almshouse,  the  orj)han  asylum,  and  to 
the  retreat  for  the  insane,  that  your  sensibility  may  be 
roused  ? Shall  I ask  you  to  accompany  me  to  the  peniten- 
tiary and  the  prison,  that  you  may  there  behold  the  end  of 
intemperance'?  Nay,  shall  I draw  back  the  curtain  and  dis- 
close to  you  the  scene  of  the  drunkard’s  death-bed  1 No — 
1 will  not  demand  of  you  a task  so  painful:  rather  let  me 
remind  you  that  3 0u<ire  to  become  the  mothers  of  our  fu- 
ture heroes  and  statesmen,  philosophers  and  divines,  law3-ers 
and  physicians:  and  shall  they  be  enfeebled  in  body,  de- 
bauched in  morals,  disordered  in  intellect,  or  healthy,  pure, 
and  full  of  mental  energ3'?  It  is  for  3'ou  to  decide  this  ques- 
tion. You  have  the  future  destiny  of  our  beloved  country 
in  your  hands.  Lqt  me  entreat  3’ou,  then,  for  your  children’s 
sake,  and  for  your  country’s  sake,  not  to  all3"  3’ourselves  to 
the  drunkard,  nor  to  put  the  cup  to  the  mouth  of  your  off- 
spring, and  thereby  implant  in  them  a craving  for  ardent 
spiiit,  which,  once  produced,  is  seldom  eradicated. 

10.  Call  upon  all  public  and  private  associations,  religious, 
literary,  and  scientific,  to  banish  ardent  spirit  from  their 
circle ; call  upon  the  agricultural,  manufacturing,  and  com- 
mercial establishments,  to  withhold  it  from  those  engaged  in 
their  emplo3’ment;  call  upon  the  legislatures  of  the  different 
states  to  co-operate  b3'  the  enactment  of  such  laws  as  will 
discourage  the  vending  of  ardent  spirit,  and  render  licenses 
to  sell  it  unattainable:  call  upon  the  proper  officers  to  ba- 
nish.from  tlie  army  and  navy  that  article  which,  of  all  others, 
is  most  calculated  to  enfeeble  the  physical  energies,  corrupt 
the  morals,  destroy  the  patriotism,  and  damp  the  courage  of 
our  soldiers  and  sailors;  call  upon  our  national  legislature 
to  im|mso  such  duties  on  the  distillation  and  importation  of 
ardent  spirit  as  will  ultimately  exclude  it  from  the  list  of 
articles  of  commerce,  and  eradicate  it  from  our  land. 

Finally,  call  upon  eveiw  sober  man,  woman,  and  child,  to 
raise  their  voices,  their  hearts,  and  their  hands  in  this  sacred 
cause,  and  never  hold  their  peace,  never  cease  their  prayers, 
never  stay  their  exertions,  till  intemperance  shall  be  ba- 
nished from  our  land  and  from  the  world. 


END. 


2JO.  27S. 


FOR 


BY  REV.  AUSTIN  DICKINSON 
Editor  of  the  National  Preacher. 


The  Bible  requires  us  to  “ present  our  bodies  a living 
sacrifice,  holy  and  acceptable  unto  God  to  “ purify  our- 
selves, even  as  he  is  pure  to  “ give  none  occasion  of 
stumbling  to  any  brother to  “ give  none  offence  to  the 
church  of  God  to  “ love  our  neighbor  as  ourselves 
to  “ do  good  to  all  as  we  have  opportunity  to  “ abstain 
from  all  appearance  of  evil to  “ use  the  world  as  not 
abusing  it and,  “ whether  we  eat  or  drink,  or  whatso- 
ever we  do,  to  do  all  to  the  glory  of  God.” 

A Being  of  infinite  benevolence  could  not  prescribe 
rules  of  action  less  holy,  and  they  are  “ the  same  that  shall 
judge  us  in  the  last  day.”  Any  indulgence,  therefore,  not 
consistent  with  these  rules,  is  offensive  to  God,  and  must 
disqualify  us  for  “ standing  in  the  judgment.” 

Such  a sin,  very  obviously,  is  the  habit  which  many 
still  indulge  of  drinking,  and  tempting  others  to  drink, 
distilled  liquor  in  this  day  of  light.  To  those  who  admit 
the  authority  of  God’s  precepts,  and  whose  minds  are  not 
clouded  by  “ sipping  a little,”  this  sin  must,  on  examina- 
tion, be  perfectly  manifest. 

The  use  of  such  liquor,  instead  of  enabling  us  to  “ pre  • 
sent  our  bodies  a living  sacrifice,  holy  and  acceptable,’ 
actually  degrades,  and  prematurely  destroys  both  body 
and  mind.  The  most  eminent  physicians  tell  us  it  is 
poison.  Dr.  Rush,  after  enumerating  various  loathsome 
diseases  of  mind  and  body,  adds,  that  these  are  “ the  usual, 
natural,  and  legitimate  consequences  of  its  use.”  Another 
eminent  physician  says,  “ The  observation  of  twenty 
years  has  convinced  me,  that  were  ten  young  men,  on 
their  twenty-first  birth-day,  to  begin  to  drink  one  glass  of 


3 


SCRIPTURE  ARGUMENT 


[242 

ardent  spirit,  and  were  they  to  drink  this  supposed  mode- 
rate quantity  daily,  the  lives  of  eight  out  of  the  ten  would 
be  abridged  by  ten  or  fifteen  years.”  When  taken  freely, 
its  corrupting  influences  are  strikingly  manifest.  And 
even  when  taken  moderatel)',  very  few  now  pretend  to 
doubt  that  it  operates  as  an  insidious  poison,  and  inevita- 
bly shortens  life.  But  nothing  can  be  clearer  than  that 
he,  who  by  any  sensual  indulgence  wilfully  cuts  short  his 
probation  five,  ten,  or  twenty  years,  is  as  truly  a suicide 
as  if  he  slew  himself  violently.  Or,  if  he  knowingly  en- 
courage his  neighbor  to  do  this,  he  is  equally  guilty.  He 
is  by  the  law  of  God,  “ a murderer.” 

But  besides  prematurely  destroying  the  body,  distilled 
liquor  debases  the  immortal  mind  ; and  destroys  its  ca- 
pacity for  usefulness,  and  for  the  clear  perception  of 
truth.  To  illustrate  the  blinding  and  perverting  influence 
of  even  a small  quantity  of  such  liquor,  let  a strictly 
temperate  man  spend  an  evefning  with  a dozen  others  in- 
dulging themselves  “ moderately  they  a\t11  be  sure  to 
say  things  rvhich  to  him  will  appear  silly,  if  not  Avicked  ; 
and  Avhich  Avill  appear  so  to  themselves  on  reflection ; 
though  at  the  time  they  may  not  be  conscious  of  any  im- 
propriety. And  if  this  “ moderate  indulgence”  be  habi- 
tual, there  must,  of  course,  be  an  increased  mental  de- 
basement, till  conscience  is  “ seared  as  AA'ith  a hot  iron,” 
and  the  mind  is  lost  to  the  power  of  being  affected  b)^ 
truth,  as  Avell  as  to  the  capacity  for  usefulness.  And  is 
this  destruction  of  the  talents  God  has  git^en,  consistent 
Avith  the  injunction  to  “ stir  up  the  gift  that  is  Avithin 
you,”  and  to  “ glorify  God  in  your  bodies  and  in  your 
spirits?” 

Again,  the  habit  of  drinking  is  incompatible  with  that 
eminent  holiness  to  which  we  are  commanded  to  aspire. 
The  great  Founder  of  Christianity  enjoins,  “ Be  ye  per- 
fect, even  as  your  Father  in  heaven  is  perfect.”  This  will 
be  the  true  Christian’s  desire.  And  a soul  aspiring  to  the 
image  and  full  enjoyment  of  God,  Avill  have  no  relish  for 
any  counteracting  influence. 

Is  it  said,  that  for  eminently  holy  men  to  “ mingle 
strong  drink”  may  seem  inconsistent;  but  not  so  for  those 
less  spiritual?  This  is  making  the  Avant  of  spirituality 
an  excuse  for  sensuality ; thus  adding  sin  to  sin,  and 


213] 


FOR  TEMPERANCE. 


3 


provoking  the  Holy  One.  His  mandate  is  universal; 
“ Be  ye  holy,  for  I am  holy.”  And  all  are  bound  to  abide 
by  this  rule,  and  make  it  their  constant  eflbrt  to  be  like 
God. 

To  this  end  they  are  charged  to  “ abstain  from  fleshly 
lusts,  which  war  against  the  soul to  “ mortify  their  mem- 
bers, which  are  earthly  to  “ exercise  themselves  rather 
unto  godliness;”  to  “be  kindly  afiectioned  toward  all 
men.”  But  who  does  not  know  that  “ strong  drink”  not 
only  “ eats  out  the  brain,”  but  “ taketh  away  the  heart,” 
diminishes  “natural  affection,”  and  deadens  all  the  kindly 
feelings  ; "while  it  cherishes  those  very  passions  which  the 
Holy  Spirit  condemns?  And  how  can  one  aspiring  to  the 
divine  image,  drink  that  which  thus  tends  to  destroy  all 
that  is  pure,  spiritual,  and  lovely,  Avhile  it  kindles  in  man 
the  very  elements  of  hell? 

The  use  of  this  liquor  is  inconsistent  with  any  thing 
like  pure  and  high  spiritual  e?ijoyment,  clear  spiritual 
views,  and  true  devotion.  A sense  of  shame  must  inevi- 
tably torment  the  man  of  conscience,  who  in  such  a day 
cannot  resist  those  “ fleshly  lusts  which  Avar  against  the 
soul ;”  his  brethren  Avill  turn  from  him  in  pity  or  disgust ; 
and,  Avhat  is  infinitely  more  affecting,  the  Holy  Spirit  Avill 
not  abide  Avith  him.  Thus,  Avitliout  an  approving  con- 
science, without  cordial  Christian  intercourse,  Avithout 
the  smiles  of  the  Comforter,  hoAv  can  he  enjoy  religion? 

Abstinence  from  highly  stimulating  liquor  or  food  has 
ever  been  regarded  indispensable  to  that  serenity  of  soul 
and  clearness  of  AneAVS  so  infinitely  desirable  in  matters  of 
religion.  Hence  the  ministers  of  religion,  especially, 
Avere  commanded' not  to  touch  any  thing  like  strong  drink 
Avhen  about  to  enter  the  sanctuary.*  And  this,  it  is  added, 
shall  he  a statute  for  ever  throughout  your  generations : 
that  ye  may  put  difference  between  holy  and  unholy; 
clearly  shoAving  God’s  judgment  of  the  effect  of  tempe- 
rance on  spiritual  discernment. 

On  the  principle  of  abstinence  Ave  may  account,  in  part, 
for  that  holy  ecstacy — that  amazing  clearness  of  spiritual 
vision — sometimes  enjoyed  on  the  death-bed.  “ Admi- 
nister nothing,”  said  the  eloquent  dying  Summerfield, 


* Lev.  10;  9. 

9* 


4 


SCKIPTURE  ARGUMENT 


[244 

“ that  will  create  a stupor,  not  even  so  much  as  a little 
porter  and  water, — that  I may  haze  an  unclouded  view.” 
For  the  same  reason  Dr.  Kush  (who  so  well  knew  the 
effect  of  strong  drink)  peremptorily  ordered  it  not  to  be 
given  him  in  his  last  hours.  And  probably  for  the  same 
holy  reason,  the  dying  Savior,  (“  who  knew  all  things,”) 
when  offered “ wine  mingled  with  myrrh” — '■‘‘received  it 
not.”  The  truly  wise  will  not  barter  visions  of  glory  for 
mere  animal  excitement  and  mental  stupefaction. 

Equally  illustrative  of  our  principle  is  the  confession 
of  an  aged  deacon  accustomed  to  drink  moderately  : “ I 
always,  in  jirayer,  felt  a coldness  and  heaviness  at  heart,  — 
never  suspecting  it  was  the  whiskey ! but  since  that  is 
given  up  I have  heavenly  communion  !”  0 rvhat  an  in- 

crease of  pure  light  and  joy  might  there  be,  would  all 
understand  this,  and  be  “ temperate  in  all  things  !” 

The  use  of  ardent  spirit  is  inconsistent  with  the  scrip- 
tural order  and  discipline  of  the  church.  A venerable 
minister,  of  great  experience  in  ecclesiastical  concerns, 
gives  it  as  the  result  of  his  observation,  that  nine-tenths 
of  all  the  cases  calling  for  church  discipline  have  in  years 
past  been  occasioned  by  this  liquor.  This  is  a tremen- 
dous fact.  But  a little  examination  will  convince  any  one 
that  the  estimate  is  not  too  high.  And  can  it  be  right 
to  continue  an  indulgence  that  brings  tenfold,  or  even 
fourfold  more  trouble  and  disgrace  on  the  church  than  all 
other,  causes  united  ? Do  not  these  foul  “ spots  in  our 
feasts  of  charity”  clearly  say,  “ Touch  not  the  unclean 
thing  ?”  Can  we  countenance  that  which  is  certain  to  bring 
deep  reproach  on  the  church  of  Christ?  “ It  must  neetls 
be  that  offences  come,  but  wo  to  that  man  by  whom  the 
offence  comelh.” 

The  use  of  distilled  liquor  by  the  religious  community 
is  inconsistent  with  the  hope  of  reforming  and  saving 
the  intemperate ; and  thus  shows  a want  of  love  to  souls. 
The  Christian  knows  that  every  soul  is  inconceivablv 
precious,  and  that  drunkards  cannot  inherit  eternal  life. 
He  knows  also  that  hundreds  of  thousands  now  sustain  or 
are  contracting  this  odious  character  ; and  that  if  the  evil 
be  not  arrested,  millions  will  come  in  the  same  track,  and 
go  down  to  the  burning  gulf.  But  the  man  who  drinks  just 
so  much  as  to  make  himself  “feel  well,”  cannot  reprove 


246] 


FOR  TEMPERANCE. 


5 


the  drunkard  who  only  does  the  same  thing.  The  dru^k- 
ard  may  say  to  him,  “ My  appetite  is  stronger  than 
yours;  more  therefore  is  necessary,  in  order  to  make 
me  ‘ feel  well and  if  you  cannot  deny  yourself,  how  can 
I control  a more  raging  appetite  ?”  This  rebuke  would  be 
unanswerable. 

All  agree  that  total  abstinence  is  the  only  hope  of  the 
drunkard.  But  is  it  not  preposterous  to  expect  him  to 
abstain,  if  he  sees  the  minister,  the  elder,  the  deacon,  and 
other  respectable  men  indulging  their  cups  ? With  mind 
enfeebled  and  character  lost,  can  he  summon  resolution 
to  be  singular,  and  live  more  temperately  than  his  ac- 
knowledged superiors? — thus  telling  to  all  that  he  has 
been  a drunkard!  This  cannot  be  expected  of  poor  sunk- 
en human  nature.  No  ; let  moderate  drinking  be  gene- 
rally allowed,  and  in  less  than  thirty  years,  according  to 
the  past  ratio  of  their  deaths,  armies  of  drunkards  greater 
than  all  the  American  churches,  will  go  from  this  land  of 
light  and  freedom  to  “ everlasting  chains  of  darkness.” 
If  then  the  drunkard  is  worth  saving,  if  he  has  a soul  ca- 
pable of  shining  with  seraphim,  and  if  there  be  in  rational 
men  “ any  bowels  of  mercies,”  let  them  give  him  the  be- 
nefit of  their  example.  Professing  to  “ do  good  to  all  as 
they  have  opportunity,”  let  them  be  consistent  in  this 
matter.  By  a little  self-denial  they  may  save  multitudes 
from  ruin.  But  “ he  that  denieth  not  himself,  cannot  be 
Christ’s  disciple.”  He  that  will  not  yield  a little  to  save 
his  fellow-sinners  from  eternal  pain,  has  nothing  of  the 
spirit  of  Him  who,  for  his  enemies,  exchanged  a throne 
for  a cross. 

Could  all  the  wailings  of  the  thousand  thousands  slain 
by  ardent  spirit  come  up  in  one  loud  thunder  of  remon- 
strance on  your  car,  you  would  then  think  it  inconsistent, 
by  example  or  by  any  act,  to  sanction  its  use.  But  “ let 
God  be  true,”  and  those  wailings  are  as  real  as  if  heard 
in  ceaseless  thunders. 

Again  ; The  use  of  distilled  liquor  is  inconsistent  with 
true  Christian  'patriotism.  All  former  efforts  to  arrest 
this  national  sin  of  intemperance  have  failed.  A glorious 
effort  is  now  making  to  remove  it  for  ever  with  pure  wa- 
ter. Thousands  of  patriots  and  philanthropists  are  rejoic- 
ing in  the  remedy.  Not  a sober  man  in  the  nation  really 
Vol.  9 2 L 


6 


SCRIPTURE  ARGUMENT 


[246 

(Icubts  its  efficacy  and  importance.  Wlio,  then,  that  re- 
gards our  national  character  and  our  glorious  institutions, 
can  hesitate  to  adopt  it?  Especially,  who  that  is  a Chris- 
tian, can  still  thirst  for  that  which  has  darkened  the  path- 
way of  heaven,  threatened  our  liberties,  desolated  families 
and  neighborhoods,  and  stigmatized  us  a “nation  of  drunk- 
ards?” Who  can  be  expected  to  engage  in  this  reform, 
if  good  men  do  not  ? If  they  withhold  their  example,  will 
worldly  and  sensual  men,  and  the  enemies  of  all  righteous- 
ness, take  up  the  work  and  reform  themselves,  and  puri- 
fy the  land  ? To  expect  this  is  preposterous  ; and  to  ■pray 
for  it  while  clinging  to  the  abominable  thing,  is  gross 
insult  to  the  Most  High.  His  manifest  language  then  is, 
“Come  out  of  her,  my  people,  that  ye  be  not  partakers 
of  her  sins,  and  that  ye  receive  not  of  her  plagues.” 
“ And  I will  rebuke  the  devourer  for  your  sakes,  and  he 
shall  not  destroy  the  fruits  of  your  ground.” 

Is  it  said,  that  the  influence  of  a small  Temperance  So- 
ciety is  unimportant?  Not  so  ; its  light  may  save  the 
surrounding  region  ; its  example  may  influence  a thousand 
churches.  And  let  the  nine  hundred  thousand  professing 
Christians  in  this  land,  with  such  others  as  they  can  en- 
list, resolve  on  total  abstinence — let  this  great  exam- 
ple be  held  up  to  view — and  it  would  be  such  a testi- 
mony as  the  world  has  not  seen.  Let  such  a multitude 
show  that  ardent  spirit  is  useless,  and  reformation  easy, 
and  the  demonstration  would  be  complete.  Few  of  the 
moral  would  continue  the  poison  ; thousands  of  the  im- 
moral abandon  it  at  once,  and  the  nation  be  reformed. 

Hence  ; The  use  of  this  liquor  is  inconsistent  with  the 
proper  influence  of  Christian  example.  The  Savior  says, 
“ Let  your  light  so  shine  before  men  that  they  may  see 
your  good  works,  and  glorify  your  Father  who  is  in  hea- 
ven.” But  will  men  esteem  Christians  the  more  for  drink- 
ing, and  thus  be  led  to  glorify  God  on  their  behalf?  Or 
will  the  Savior  praise  them  for  this,  “ when  he  shall  come 
to  be  glorified  in  his  saints,  and  to  be  admired  in  all  them 
that  believe  ?”  Rather  will  not  their  drinking  lead  some 
to  excess,  and  thus  sull}'  the  Creator’s  work  ? Nay,  is 
it  not  certain,  that  if  the  religious  community  indulge,  the 
example  will  lead  millions  to  drunkenness  and  perdition  ? 
And,  on  the  other  hand,  is  it  not  morally  certain,  that  if 


FOR  TEMPERANCE. 


t 


247] 

they  would  abstain,  their  combined  influence  might  save 
millions  from  infamy  and  ruin  ? But  every  one  shares  in 
this  mighty  work  of  example.  How,  then,  in  prospect  of 
a day  when  all  the  bearings  of  your  conduct  shall  be 
judged,  can  you  hesitate  on  which  side  to  lend  your  in- 
fluence 1 This  is  not  a little  matter  ; for  who  can  conceive 
the  results  of  even  one  impulse,  among  beings  connected 
with  each  other  and  with  infinity  by  ten  thousand  strings  ! 

The  use  of  ardent  spirit  is  inconsistent  icith  that  har- 
mony and  brotherly  love  xvhich  Christ  requires  in  his 
professed  followers.  He  requires  them  to  “ love  one 
another  with  a pure  heart  fervently  to  “ be  all  of  one 
mind  to  be  “ of  one  heart  and  one  soul.”  But  who 
does  not  see  the  utter  impossibility  of  this,  if  some  con- 
tinue an  indulgence  which  others  regard  with  abhorrence  ? 
Since  public  attention  has  been  turned  to  this  subject, 
thousands  have  come  to  the  conviction  that  drinking  dis- 
tilled liquor  is  a wicked  as  well  as  filthy  practice.  The 
most  distinguished  lights  of  the  church,  and  all  such  as  pe- 
culiarly adorn  human  nature,  decidedly  embrace  this  sen- 
timent. And  how  can  such  have  any  thing  like  cordiality 
with  those  who  continue  a habit  now  so  extensively  view- 
ed with  disgust  ? Ah  ! the  man,  however  decent,  who,  in  a 
day  like  this  “ will  have  his  glass,  not  caring  whom  he 
offends,”  must  have  it ; but  with  it,  he  must  also  “ have 
his  reward.^'  For,  judging  from  his  fruits,  he  has  nothing 
of  the  spirit  of  Christ,  or  of  Paul.  That  holy  apostle, 
speaking  on  this  very  subject  of  appetite,  says,  “Give 
7ione  offence,  neither  to  the  Jews,  nor  to  the  Gentiles,  nor 
to  the  Church  of  God."  And  the  Savior  says,  “ Whoso 
shall  offend  one  of  these  little  ones  which  believe  in  me,  it 
were  better  for  him  that  a millstone  were  hanged  about 
his  neck.” 

The  use  of  distillqd  liquor,  in  this  day  of  light,  is  in- 
compatible with  the  hope  of  receiving  any  general  effu- 
sion of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Christians  are  allowed  to  hope 
for  tlie  Holy  Spirit  to  be  poured  out  only  in  answer  to 
prayer ; and  only  in  answer  to  true,  spiritual,  believing 
prayer.  “ If  they  regard  iniquity  in  their  heart,  the  Lord 
will  not  hear  them.”  If  they  wilfully  and  habitually  che- 
rish any  sin,  they  cannot  have  faith,  and  it  is  inconsistent 
to  hope  that  God  would  show  such  approbation  as  to  an- 


SCRIPTURE  ARGUMENT 


[248 

swer  their  prayers.  Nay,  is  it  not  most  solemn  mockery 
for  any  to  cry,  “ Revive  thy  work,  O Lord  — while,  by 
example,  they  are  perhaps  seducing  thousands  to  sin! 
Indeed,  how  odious  the  spectacle  of  a company  assembled 
professedly  in  the  name  of  Christ,  and  looking  toward 
heaven,  butin  this  posture  of  devotion  all  breathing  forth 
the  foul,  fiery  element  1 This  is  literally  “ offering  strange 
fire  before  the  Lord.”  And,  instead  of  mercy,  I hear  his 
terrible  remonstrance,  “ Ye  are  a smoke  in  my  nose,  a 
Jire  that  hurneth  all  day."  I see  the  lightning  of  his  an- 
ger ready  to  smite  such  impious  mockers.  It  should 
never  be  forgotten  that  the  miserable  men  whom  the  Al- 
mighty struck  dead  when  they  “ offered  strange  fire,” 
were  probably  excited  by  liquor ; as  we  infer  from  the 
fact  that  his  command  never  to  taste  any  thing  like  strong 
drink,  when  about  to  enter  the  place  of  worship,  was 
issued  immediately  after  that  awful  visitation.  O how, 
without  sin,  can  his  pure  Spirit  be  invoked  to  descend 
and  mingle  his  holy  influences  with  that  spirit  which 
worketh  only  iniquity  and  death,  and  which  pollutes  the 
very  air  we  breathe? 

God  may  have  “ winked  at”  such  inconsistencies  in 
“ times  of  ignorance;”  but  to  expect  him  to  do  so  in  this 
day  of  light,  would  be  awfully  presumptuous.  AVe  are 
not,  then,  to  expect  divine  influence  to  come  down  “ like 
showers  that  water  the  earth  ” till  we  put  away  that  which 
we  know  tends  to  wither  and  consume  all  the  “ fruits  of 
the  Spirit.” 

The  waste  of  property  in  the  use  of  distilled  liquor  is 
inconsistent  with  the  character  of  faithful  “ stewards  for 
Christ."  Religious  “ contributions”  are  among  the  ap- 
pointed means  for  converting  the  world.  But  allow  each 
of  our  nine  hundred  thousand  professing  Christians  only 
three  cents  worth  of  ardent  spirit  daily,  and  the  annual 
cost  is  about  ten  millions  of  d6llars  ! which  would 
be  sufficient  to  support  constantly  at  least  twenty  thou- 
sand MISSIONARIES  ! Let  “ stewards”  of  the  Lord’s 
bounty,  then,  who  would  consume  their  portion  of  this 

little"  on  sinful  appetite,  ponder  and  blush  for  such  in- 
consistency ; and  let  them  hasten  to  clear  off  the  heavy 
charge,  “ Ye  have  robbed  me,  even  this  whole  nation." 

Again  ; To  indulge  in  the  use  of  ardent  spirit  is  incon- 


249] 


FOR  TEMPERANCE. 


9 


sistent  with  all  attempts  to  recommend  the  Gospel  to  the 
heathen.  Nothing  has  done  more  to  prejudice  our  Indian 
neighbors,  and  hinder  among  them  the  influence  of  the 
Gospel,  than  those  poisonous  liquors  we  have  encouraged 
them  to  use.  The  more  serious  among  them  perceive 
these  liquors  to  be  fraught  only  with  mischief.  Several 
tribes  have  set  the  noble  example  of  excluding  these  ar- 
ticles by  the  strong  arm  of  law;  and  it  is  only  by  con- 
vincing them  that  really  consistent  Christians  do  not  en- 
courage such  evils,  that  our  missionaries  have  been  able 
to  gain  their  confidence,  and  to  introduce  our  literature 
and  religion. 

The  same  feeling  prevails,  as  we  learn,  in  more  distant 
heathen  nations.  They  cannot  but  despise  a people  who 
use  and  sell  a polluting  drink,  which  they,  to  a great  ex- 
tent, regard  with  disgust  and  abhorrence. 

Suppose  our  missionaries  should  go  out  with  the  Bible 
in  one  hand  and  a bottle  in  the  other  ; what  impression 
would  they  makel  Even  nature  herself  would  revolt  at 
the  alliance.  And  nothing  but  custom  and  fashion  have 
reconciled  any  among  us  to  similar  inconsistencies  at 
home. 

But  not  only  must  our  missionaries  be  unspotted,  they 
must  also  be  able  to  testify  that  no  real  Christians  pol- 
lute themselves  with  this  or  any  other  unclean  thing. 
With  such  testimony  they  might  secure  the  conviction, 
that  our  religion  is  indeed  purifying  and  elevating,  and 
that  our  God  is  the  true  God.  For,  saith  Jehovah, 
“ then  shall  the  heathen  know  that  I am  the  Lord,  when 
I shall  be  sanctified  in  you  before  their  eyes.” 

The  use  of  ardent  spirit,  especially  by  the  church,  is 
inconsistent  with  any  reasonable  hope  tha.t  the  flood  of 
intemperance  would  not  return  upon  the  land,  even  should 
it  for  a season  he  dried  up.  The  same  causes  which  have 
produced  it  would  produce  it  again,  unless  there  be  some 
permanent,  powerful,  counteracting  influence.  Tempe- 
rance Associations  are  unspeakably  important  as  means 
of  reformation,  and  all  ought  to  join  them.  But  they  are 
not  permanent  bodies ; their  organization  may  cease 
when  intemperance  is  once  done  away ; and  unless  the 
principle  of  total  abstinence  be  generally  acknow- 
ledged and  regarded  as  a Christian  duty  by  some  great 


10 


SCRIPTURE  ARGUMENT 


[250 


association  that  is  to  be  'perpetual,  it  will  in  time  be  for- 
gotten or  despised  ; and  then  drunkenness  will  again 
abound.  Such  an  association  is  found  only  in  “ the 
Church  of  the  living  God.”  This  will  continue  while  the 
world  stands  ; for  God  has  promised  it.  Let  the  princi- 
ple of  entire  ABSTINENCE  then,  be  generally  recognized 
by  members  of  the  church,  and  by  such  others  as  they 
can  influence  ; and  you  have  a great  and  increasing  mul- 
titude to  sustain  the  temperance  cause  “ till  time  shall 
be  no  longer.”  And  can  the  real  Christian,  or  patriot, 
think  it  hard  thus  to  enlist  for  the  safety  of  all  future  ge- 
nerations I If  parents  love  their  offspring,  if  Christians 
love  the  millions  coming  into  Sabbath  schools,  will  they 
not  gladly  hasten  to  secure  them  all  from  the  destroyer  ? 
Has  he  a shadow  of  consistency  who  will  rather  do  that, 
which  if  done  by  the  church  generally,  would  lead  mil- 
lions of  these  children  and  their  descendants  to  hopeless 
ruin  ? 

The  use  of  distilled  liquor,  as  a common  article  of 
luxury  or  living,  is  inconsistent  with  the  plain  spirit  and 
precepts  of  God's  word.  It  furnishes  no  warrant  whate- 
ver for  such  use.  The  “strong  drink  ”of  the  ancients  was, 
in  its  effects,  somewhat  analogous  to  ardent  spirit ; though 
not  so  polluting  or  so  poisonous.  And  the  use  to  be  made 
of  it  is  so  distinctly  pointed  out  in  Scripture,  that  men 
need  not  mistake  and  poison  themselves.  It  was  to  be 
used  as  a medicine  in  extreme  cases.  “ Give  strong  drink 
unto  him  that  is  ready  to  perish."  Its  common  use  is 
condemned,  as  awfully  pernicious.  “ Strong  drink  is  rag- 
ing ; and  whosoever  is  deceived  thereby,  is  not  wise.” 
“ They  are  out  of  the  way  through  strong  drink  ; they 
err  in  vision  ; they  stumble  in  judgment ;”  Such  passages 
show  clearly  the  mind  of  God  with  respect  to  the  nature 
and  use  of  this  article.  And  they  apply  with  double  force 
to  the  more  fiery  element  of  modern  invention. 

Moreover,  it  is  said  in  another  passage,  “ Wo  unto 
him  that  giveth  his  neighbor  drink.”  But  does  not  every 
man  who  manufactures,  or  sells,  or  uses  ardent  spirit,  en- 
courage his  neighbor  to  drink  ? And  if  he  do  it  with  the 
Bible  in  his  hand,  does  he  not  contemn  God’s  authority? 
Does  he  not  now  aggravate  his  guilt  by  sinning  against 
great  light?  And  would  he  not  aggravate  it  still  further, 


251] 


FOR  TEMPERANCE. 


11 


should  he  charge  the  blame  on  God’s  word O,  what  a 
blot  would  it  be  on  the  Bible,  should  one  chapter  or  one 
sentence  be  added,  encouraging  the  common  use  of  in- 
toxicating liquor  ! “ If  any  man  thus  add,  God  shall  add 
unto  him  the  plagues  that  are  written  in  this  book.” 

To  encourage  the  manufacture  of  ardent  spirit  is  an 
ungrateful  abuse  of  the  bounties  of  Providence.  When 
God  had  formed  man,  and  spread  out  before  him  this 
beautiful  world,  he  kindly  said  “ Behold  I have  given 
you  every  herb  bearing  seed  which  is  upon  the  face  of 
all  the  earth,  and  every  tree,  in  the  which  is  the  fruit  of 
of  a tree  yielding  seed  ; to  you  it  shall  be  for  meat."  God 
then  it  seems  intended  that  men  should  use  the  fruits  of 
the  earth  for/ood.  But  “ they  have  sought  out  many  in- 
ventions.” And  one  of  these  “ inventions  ” is,  to  take 
these  “ gifts  of  God,  and  convert  them  into  a poison, 
most  insidious  in  its  nature,  and  most  destructive  both  to 
soul  and  body  ! The  distiller,  the  vender,  and  the  consu- 
mer of  ardent  spirit  encourage  one  another  in  this  awful 
perversion  of  God’s  gifts  ! And  is  this  “ receiving  his 
gifts  with  thanksgiving  ?”  Better,  infinitely  better,  to  cast 
them  at  once  into  tlie  fire  or  tlie  ocean,  and  say  unto  Him, 
“ We  have  no  need  of  these.”  But  the  ingratitude  does 
not  stop  here.  When  men,  in  abuse  of  the  divine  bounty 
have  made  this  foul  poison,  to  justify  its  use  and  give  it 
currency,  they  call  it  one  of  the  “ creatures  of  God." 
With  as  much  propriety  might  they  call  gambling  estab- 
lishments and  murderous  weapons  his  “ creatures  and 
thus  encourage  their  general  use  ! But  how  awful  the  hn- 
piety  of  thus  ascribing  the  worst  of  man’s  inventions  to 
the  benevolent  God!  In  “times  of  ignorance”  many 
have  done  thus.  But  “ the  darkness  is  past,”  the  “ true 
light  now  shineth”  : and  should  a man  now  inscribe  on  his 
barrel  or  his  decanter  of  intoxicating  liquor — God  made 
THIS,  MAY  God  send  it  prosperity — the  whole  commu- 
nity would  be  indignant  at  his  blasphemy.  Nay,  his  own 
conscience  would  blush  for  such  impiety.  Think  of  this  ' 
Make  the  inscription  if  you  can  ! But  if  you  dare  not 
write  it  before  men,  can  you  countenance  the  vile  traffic 
before  Him  “ whose  eyes  are  as  a flame  of  fire  !” 

For  a man  to  persevere  in  making,  selling,  or  using 
ardent  spirit,  as  a common  article  of  luxury  or  living. 


12 


SCRIPTURE  ARGUMENT 


[252 


WHILE  FULLY  KNOWING  ITS  EFFECTS,  and  pOSSeSSing' 
THE  LIGHT  PROVIDENCE  HAS  NOW  POURED  ON  THIS  SUB- 
JECT, is  utterly  inconsistent  with  any  satisfactory  evi- 
dence of  piety.  “By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them.” 
And  what  are  his  fruits.  Why,  as  we  have  seen,  he  wil- 
fully cuts  short  his  own  life  or  the  life  of  his  neighbor; 
he  wilfully  impairs  memory,  judgment,  imagination,  all 
the  immortal  faculties,  merely  for  sensual  indulgence  or 
paltry  gain;  he  stupifies  conscience,  and  cherishes  all  the 
evil  passions  ; he  prefers  sordid  appetite  to  pure  spiritual 
enjoyment;  he  is  the  occasion  of  stumbling  to  those  for 
whom  Christ  died,  and  of  dark  reproach  on  the  church  ; 
he  neglects  the  only  means  Providence  has  pointed  out 
for  rescuing  millions  from  drunkenness  and  hell ; he  wil- 
fully encourages  their  downward  course ; he  refuses  the 
aid  he  might  give  to  a great  national  reform  ; he  lends 
his  whole  weight  against  this  reformation  ; he  is  the  oc- 
casion of  offence,  grief,  and  discord  among  brethren  ; he 
grieves  the  Holy  Spirit ; he  robs  the  Lord’s  treasury  ; he 
makes  Christianity  infamous  in  the  eyes  of  the  heathen  ; 
he  disregards  the  plain  spirit  and  precepts  of  the  Bible; 
and,  in  fine,  he  perverts  even  the  common  bounties  of 
Providence.  Such  are  his  fruits.  And  the  man,  surely, 
who  can  do  all  this  in  meridian  light,  while  God  is  look- 
ing on,  and  while  the  cries  of  widows  and  orphans  are 
remonstrating,  does  not  give  satisfactory  evidence  of 
piety.  He  manifests  neither  respect  for  God  nor  love  to 
man. 

And  now,  should  such  an  one  come  to  the  Lord’s  ta- 
ble without  first  washing  his  hands  in  tears  of  penitence, 
and  abjuring  the  unclean  thing,  would  he  not  “ eat  and 
drink  unworthily?”  “For  this  lery  cause,”  adds  the 
apostle,  “ many  are  weak  and  sickly  among  you,  and 
many  asleep.”  And  must  the  church  be  a nursery  for 
death  and  hell?  Must  not  those  who  encourage  unworthy 
members,  be  “ partakers  of  their  sins,  and  receive  of 
their  plagues?” 

“ The  time  is  come  that  judgment  must  begin  at  the 
house  of  God,”  and  lines  must  be  drawn  by  the  eternal 
rule.  Let  conscience  then  solemnly  review  our  whole 
argument  by  the  infinitely  holy  law.  Is  it  indeed  right 
and  scriptural  to  impair  body  and  mind  by  sensuality^ — 


Foil  TEMPERANCE. 


13 


253] 


to  defile  the  flesh,  cloud  the  soul,  stupify  conscience,  nnd 
cherish  the  worst  passions?  Is  it  right  to  bring  occasions 
of  stumbling  into  the  church  ? Is  it  right  to  encourage 
drunkards  and  let  them  perish,  when  God  hath  said, 
“ Thou  shall  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself?”  Is  it  right 
to  treat  with  contempt  a great  national  reform  ? and  to 
hinder  the  progress  of  such  a reformation  ? Is  it  right  to 
oflend  and  grieve  such  as  Christ  calls  “brethren?”  and 
right  to  grieve  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  hinder  his  blessed 
influence  ? Is  it  riglit  to  “ consume  on  lust”  what  would 
fill  the  Lord’s  treasury  ? and  right  to  make  religion  odious 
to  the  heathen  ? Is  it  right  to  leave  the  land  open  to  new 
floods  of  intemperance?  to  disregard  the  manifest  lessons 
of  God’s  word  and  providence  ? and  to  convert  food  to 
foul  poison?  Is  it  indeed  scriptural  and  right  to  sanction 
practices  fraught  only  with  wounds,  death,  and  perdition  ? 
Can  real  Christians,  by  example  or  otherwise,  propagate 
such  shocking  heresy? 

Let  it  not  be  suggested  that  our  argument  bears  chiefly 
against  the  use  of  ardent  spirit;  for  common 

sense  and  candor  must  admit,  what  lias  been  a thousand 
times  demonstrated,  that  the  moderate  use  of  the  poison 
is  the  real  occasion  of  all  its  woes,  blasphemies,  and  abo- 
minations. Who  was  ever  induced  to  taste,  by  the  dis- 
gusting sight  of  a drunkard  ? Or  who  became  a drunkard, 
except  by  moderate  indulgence  in  the  beginning  ? Indeed, 
this  habit  of  moderate  drinking,  by  such  as  call  themselves 
respectable,  is  perhaps  tenfold  worse  in  its  influence  on 
society  than  occasional  instances  of  drunkenness  ; for 
these  excite  abhorrence,  and  rather  alarm  than  betray ; 
while  moderate  indulgence  sanctions  the  general  use,  and 
thus  insidiously  betrays  millions  to  destruction.  O never, 
since  the  first  temptation,  did  Satan  gain  such  a victory 
as  when  he  induced  Christians,  by  their  example,  to  sanc- 
tion every  where  the  use  of  intoxicating  liquor.  And  ne- 
ver, since  the  triumph  of  Calvary,  has  he  experienced 
such  a defeat  as  God  is  now  summoning  them  to  accom- 
plish. Let  them  openly  pledge  themselves  against  ardent 
spirit,  and  by  generously  diffusing  light  on  this  subject, 
do  half  as  much  to  expose  as  they  have  done  to  encourage 
this  grand  device  of  the  devil,  and  rivers  of  death  will 
be  dried  up,  Zion  look  forth  in  grandeur  and  beauty, 


14 


SCRirTURF.  ARGUMENT 


[254 


streams  of  salvation  be  multiplied,  and  the  sanctifying 
Spirit  descend  on  the  nation. 

The  duty  of  all  good  citizens  then,  in  regard  to  distilled 
liquor,  is  very  plain.  If  their  vision  be  not  still  clouded 
by  reason  of  the  poison,  they  cannot  but  see  that  it  would 
be  pleasing  to  God,  happy  for  themselves,  beneficial  to 
the  world,  and  conducive  to  the  highest  interests  of 
Christ’s  kingdom,  for  them  to  adopt  with  one  consent  the 
principle  of  total  abstinence,  and  make  generous  ef- 
forts for  disseminating  this  principle. 

And  now,  if  you  Icnoio  your  duty,  will  you  do  it  1 Can 
you  hesitate!  Can  you,  in  the  name  of  Christ,  still  pray, 
“ A little  more  of  the  poison;  a little  more  pernicious  ex- 
ample ; a little  more  disgrace  on  the  church  ; a little  more 
grieving  the  Holy  Spirit;  a little  more  encouragement  to 
all  the  abominations  and  woes  of  intemperance  V Is  this 
religious  consistency  ? V/here  then  will  you  stop  ? O 
how  many  millions  of  sacred  trust  must  be  consumed  on 
sinful  appetite  ? how  many  souls  must  be  ruined  for  both 
worlds  1 how  many  fresh  wounds  inflicted  on  the  Redeem- 
er’s cause,  ere  you  can  resolve  to  do  your  duty  ? 

Do  you  still  say,  we  carry  the  matter  too  far  ? — requiring 
total  abstinence  ! (except  for  medical  purposes.)  “ Do 
unto  others  as  ye  icould  they  should  do  to  you,"  is  the 
law.  But  suppose  your  own  child,  your  brother,  your 
sister,  tlie  wife  of  your  bosom,  Avere  in  peril  from  the  ex- 
ample or  temptation  of  others, — would  you  be  pleased 
Avith  this?  No.  Well,  the  example  of  moderate  drinkers 
and  the  temptations  of  retailers,  you  admit,  have  ruined 
and  must  continue  to  ruin  vast  multitudes.  Can  you  then 
justify  such  by  the  “ golden  rule?”  Ah,  let  the  burning 
tide  actually  desolate  your  own  family ; and  then  answer. 
But  again  you  are  commanded  to  “ abstain  from  all  ap- 
pearance of  evil."  And  is  there  no  appearance  of  evil  in 
tampering  Avith  that  which  “ biteth  like  a serpent  and 
stingeth  like  an  adder?”  But  you  are  also  required  to 
“ do  all  to  the  elory  of  God.”  And  can  you  sip  the  pol- 
luting cup  and  tempt  others,  and  then  say,  “I  no  this 
FOR  God’s  glory  ?” 

Is  it  said  by  some,  that  should  they  give  up  the  traffic 
in  ardent  spirit  the  sacrifice  must  be  very  great  and  hard 
to  be  borne  ? But  is  it  not  harder  to  sin  against  God  ? 


255] 


FOR  TEn;PEIWHS"CE. 


15 


Calculate  for  eternity,  as  well  as  time  ; for  “ God  shall 
bring  every  work  into  judgment;  and  “what  is  a man 
profited  if  he  gain  the  whole  world?”  To  quibble  with 
conscience  in  a matter  of  such  amazing  interest,  would  be- 
tray only  sullen  ignorance  or  hardened  depravit}'. 

But  do  you  now  say  you  will  henceforth  have  nothing 
to  do  with  ardent  spirit;  and  that  you  are  willing  even 
to  make  reparation  for  the  injury  you  have  done?  In 
no  other  way  can  good  men,  after  being  fully  enlighten- 
ed on  the  subject,  make  suitable  acknowledgment  of  the 
deep  and  eternal  injuries  they  have  inflicted  through  in- 
toxicating liquor,  but  by  giving  their  open  and  decided 
testimony  against  it,  and  endeavoring  by  every  pro- 
per method  to  dissuade  others  from  the  indulgence.  In 
no  other  way  can  they  manifest  to  the  world  a becoming 
sense  of  its  odiousne.ss  ; and  thus  “ let  their  light  shine 
before  men.”  But  let  them  do  this,  with  deep  and  gene- 
ral humiliation  before  God,  and  prayer  for  the  divine  for- 
giveness and  blessing,  and  though  some  few  may  “gnaw 
their  tongues  for  pain,  and  blaspheme  the  God  of  hea- 
ven, and  repent  not  of  their  deeds,”  yet  there  would  be 
“ joy  in  heaven”  over  great  multitudes  repenting ; and 
soOTi  would  it  be  echoed  with  thanksgiving  from  every 
land,  “ Ys  are  a chosen  generation,  a royal  priesthood, 
a holy  nation,  a peculiar  people,  that  ye  should  show 
forth  the  praises  of  him  who  hath  called  you  out  of 
darkness  into  marvellous  light.” 

In  hastening  this  blest  consummation,  all  have  yet  a 
part  to  act.  Do  you  exult  in  the  consciousness  of  being 
wholly  freed  from  the  unclean  thing?  Then  think  of  tlie 
millions  still  contaminated;  and  reflect,  “such  were 
some  of  you;  but  ye  are  washed” — ye  are  rescued  from 
the  poison.  God  “ hath  made  you  to  differ.”  Now  tiien 
his  injunction  is,  “When  thou  art  converted,  strengthen 
thy  brethren.”  Strengthen  those  few  who  are  pouring 
out  their  breath  or  spending  their  treasure  in  this  cause. 
Every  man  and  wotnan  can  do  this  to  some  extent,  and 
every  Cliristian  surely  must  fee!  constrained  by  gratitude 
to  God,  as  well  as  love  to  man,  freely  to  extend  the  means 
of  reformation. 

In  this  work  of  light  and  love,  then,  be  generous, 
“be  sober,  be  vigilant,  be  of  one  mind  ;”  for  your  adversary 


16  SCniPTURE  ARGUMENT  FOR  TEMPERANCE.  [256 

th(^  devil,  as  a roaring  lion,  walketh  about.”  I tremble  lest 
possibly  through  apathy,  or  discord,  or  indiscretion,  or 
treason  among  professed  friends,  “ Satan  should  yet  get 
an  advantage,”  and  turn  our  fair  morning  into  a heavier 
night  of  darkness,  and  tempest,  and  war.  But  wo  to  that 
man  who  at  this  crisis  shall  knowingly  encourage  the 
exciting  cause  of  such  evils.  And  heaviest  wo  to  him  who 
shall  avail  himself  of  a standing  in  the  church  for  this 
purpose.  I hear  for  such  a loud  remonstrance  from  count- 
less millions  yet  unborn,  and  a louder  still  from  the  throne 
of  eternal  Justice,  and  from  the  lips  of  the  compassion- 
ate Savior  : and  if  they  heed  not  the  voice  of  infinite  love, 
I see  for  them  “ the  wine  of  the  wrath  of  God  poured  out 
without  mixture  into  the  cup  of  his  indignation.” 

But  “ though  we  thus  speak,”  we  hope  and  expect  bel- 
ter things,  especially  from  the  decided  followers  of  tne 
Lamh,  of  every  name  ; ” ihiiigs  which  make  for  peace, 
things  wherewith  one  may  edify*another,  and  things  which 
accompany  salvation”  to  a dying  world. 

And  now  does  any  one  still  inquire,  what  more  he  can 
do  for  temperance  than  pledge  his  example?  What  more, 
let  it  be  asked,  was  you  once  doing  to  aid  intemperance  ? 
Did  you  simply  encourage  it  by  drinking  a little?  Did 
yon  not  with  kind  looks  and  bland  words  pass  the  cup  to 
your  child,  your  friend,  your  neighbor,  your  servant,  and 
even  to  the  stranger  at  the  inn,  or  at  your  door  ? Bid  you 
not  with  the  fruits  of  your  industry  aid  the  distiller,  the 
rctaUer,  and  say  to  all  around,  “ Drink,  drink,” — thougli 
you  knew  there  was  death  in  the  cup  ? And  have  not  some, 
perhaps  many,  been  thus  ruined  by  your  instrumentality  ? 
And  will  you  now  make  no  restitution  ? Does  not  God 
in  his  providence  demand  it?  Will  you  then  obey,  and 
” do  good  to  all  as  you  have  opportunity  ?”  Will  you 
kindly  speak  to  this  one,  and  that  one,  and  that  other, 
with  whom  you  have  influence?  Will  you  not  cheerfully 
give  a little  time,  talent,  feeling,  or  what  is  still  less,  a 
pittance  of  that  which  perisheth,  for  spreading  light  on 
this  great  subject,  and  conquering  sin,  and  death,  and 
hell?  What  thou  doest,  do  quickly;  for  the  Angel  will 
«oon  announce,  He  that  is  filthy,  let  him  he  filthy  still.'' 


END. 


No.  288. 


POUH  REASONS 

AGAINST  THE  USE  OF 

AECOHOErlC  I.IQ,UOMS. 


BY  JOHN  GRIDLEY,  M.  D. 


In  presenting  this  subject  it  shall  be  my  aim  to  state  and 
illustrate  such  facts  and  principles  as  shall  induce  every 
man,  woman,  and  child,  capable  of  contemplating  truth  and 
appreciating  motive,  to  exert  the  whole  weight  of  their  in- 
fluence in  favor  of  the  “ Temperance  Reform.”  There 
are  Four  Reasons  which  claim  special  attention. 

The  FIRST  reason  we  would  urge  why  the  use  of  al- 
coholic liquors  should  be  altogether  dispensed  with,  is 
their  immense  cost  to  the  consumers.  It  is  estimated  from 
data  as  unerring  as  custom-house  books,  and  the  declara- 
tions of  the  manufacturers  of  domestic  distilled  spirit,  that 
previous  to  1826,  60,000,000  gallons  of  ardent  spirit  were 
annually  consumed  in  these  United  States  ; the  average  cost 
of  which  is  moderately  stated  at  fifty  cents  per  gallon,  and 
in  the  aggregate  thirty  millions  of  dollars. 

Thirty  millions  of  dollars  annually ! A sum  which,  if 
spread  out  in  one  dollar  bank  notes,  end  to  end,  would 
reach  across  the  Atlantic.  Or,  if  in  silver  dollars  piled  one 
upon  the  other,  would  form  a column  nearly  thirty  miles 
high ; and  which  would  occupy  a man  twelve  hours  in 
each  day  for  almost  two  years  to  enumerate,  allowing  him 
to  count  one  every  second.  Or  to  suppose  a useful  appli- 
cation of  this  fund,  it  would  support  annually  from  two  to 
three  hundred  thousand  young  men  in  preparing  for  the  Gos- 
pel ministry.  In  three  years  it  is  a sura  more  than  equal  to 
the  supply  of  a Bible  to  every  family  on  the  habitable  globe. 
•One  half  the  amount  would  defray  all  the  ordmary  ex- 


2 FOUR  REASONS  AGAINST  [2 

penses  incident  to  the  carrying  on  of  our  nation’s  govern- 
mental operations  every  year.  Thus  I might  multiply  ob- 
ject upon  object,  which  this  vast  sum  is  adequate  to  accom- 
plish, and  carry  the  mind  from  comparison  to  comparison 
in  estimating  its  immense  amount ; still  the  cost,  thus  con- 
sidered as  involving  the  fecuniary  resources  of  the  country, 
is  a mere  item  of  the  aggregate,  when  the  loss  of  time,  waste 
of  providential  bounty,  neglect  of  business,  &c.  incident  to 
the  consumption  of  this  one  article  are  throum  into  the  ac- 
count.* 

A SECOND  REASON  why  its  use  should  be  condemned  is, 
the  entire  inadequacy  of  any  yroperty  it  possesses  to  impart 
the  least  benefit,  either  nutrient,  or  in  any  other  wa}'  sub- 
stantially to  the  consumer — to  saj’’  nothing  just  now  of  its 
never-failing  injurious  effects.  Alcohol  consists  chemical- 
ly in  a state  of  purity  of  carbon,  oxygen,  and  hydrogen ; in 
the  proportions  of  carbon  about  52  parts,  oxx’gen  34,  and 
hydrogen  14  to  the  100.  The  addition  of  water  forms  the 
various  proof  spirits.  It  can  be  generated  in  no  way  but 
\)j  fermentation : no  skill  of  art  has  yet  been  able  to  com- 
bine the  above  elements  in  such  proportions,  or  relations, 
as  to  produce  alcohol,  except  by  heat  and  moisture  inciting 
fermentation  in  vegetable  substances.  But  it  should  be  un- 
derstood, that  vegetables  may  undergo  a certain  degree  of 
fermentation  without  producing  alcohol ; or,  if  suffered  to 
produce  it,  another  stage  of  fermentation  will  radically  de- 
stroy it,  and  produce  an  acid.  Thus,  any  of  the  vegetable 
substances,  as  corn  or  rye,  subjected  to  a certain  degree  of 
heat  and  moisture,  will  soon  suffer  a decomposition,  and  a 

* The  amount  paid  for  .4rdent  Spirits  in  (he  U.  Stales,  annuoll 
was  estimated  at  $50,000,000.  The  loss  resulting  from  its  use,  directly 
and  indirectly,  in  1831,  was  estimated,  with  this  sum,  to  make  u]) 
100,000,000  of  dollars  a year.  The  following  calculation  was  given 
in  (he  fifth  report  of  the  American  Temperance  Society,  as  to  the 
beneficial  purposes  to  which  this  sum  might  have  been  applied.  It 
would  obtain 

<,000,000  sheep  t\t -2  50  each,  . . . $10,000,000;  2,000,000  bnslicis  of  potatoes  at  10  cts. 


-100,000  head  of  cattle  ftl  S25  . . . lO.OOO.CCOj  !0,0u0,000  lbs.  of  sugar  at  JO  cis.  . . l.t-W.tM) 

Cut)  QUO  cows  at  -20  . T . . . • 4.i;00.0l'0  I 44H)y, t“C0  lbs.  of  rice  at  5 cis *-00,000 

•10.000  hoi-ses  at  100 4,000.000  | 2,000,000  galls,  molasses  at  40  cts. . . S.fXJO.OOO 

500.000  siiiia  of  men’s  clothes  at  ■ 20  10,000,000'  l.OUO  chorcbee  ut  c5,000cacl»  . . 

l.ftXl.OOO  do.  boy’s  do.  s^lO  I0,000,0c0  8.000  school-houses  at  f 500  each  4.'=  .i'-J 

5f)0,U00do.  women's  do,  s^.lO  5,000.000  500,000  newspapers  at . 2 each  . . l/vd.uO 

l.OflO.OOC  do.  gi»rs  do.  S 3 3.000,000  5,000  libraries  at  s;600  each  . . . 3,0(«,000 

J ,21/0,000  barrels  of  flour  at  .>5  * . . G, 000, 000  i 2,000  miiuittrs  ut  • • l,0U0,0OU 

500.000  do.  beef  all- TO  . . • 8 000.000  - - 


y/.ii'OCO  do.  pork  at  .1250  . , lOOOO.OC'Oj 
S»0C0,buu  *«;:rbcU  of  corn  at  50  CIS  . , 1,500,0001 


Total  . . . $100,c00,00« 


3] 


THE  USE  OF  ALCOHOLIC  LIQUORS. 


3 


development  of  sugar,  to  a greater  or  less  degree,  will  take, 
place.  If  removed  now  from  circumstances  favorable  to  its 
farther  fermentation,  as  is  the  case  with  dough  for  bread* 
&c.  no  appreciable  quantity  of  alcohol  is  created.  A fur- 
ther degree  of  fermentation  however  is  generative  of  alco- 
hol, and  if  arrested  here,  the  alcohol  maintains  its  decided 
character;  while  still  another  stage  presents  the  acetous 
state,  and  the  alcoholic  property  is  lost  in  vinegar.  As  in 
our  opinion  much  success  to  the  temperance  cause  depends 
upon  a right  understanding  in  the  community  of  what  al- 
cohol is,  and  the  manner  of  its  production,  for,  to  contend 
with  an  enemy  successfully  it  is  important  to  know  his  re- 
treats and  hiding  places,  as  well  as  his  more  open  exhibi- 
tions. A more  simple  illustration  may  not  be  inappro- 
priate here. 

A farmer  takes  a quantity  of  apples  to  the  mill  in  order 
to  convert  them  into  cider.  He  grinds,  then  lays  them  up 
into  a cheese;  when  pressure  is  applied  and  the  juice  runs 
into  a vat  placed  to  receive  it.  Here,  at  this  stage  of  the  bu- 
siness there  is  no  alcohol  in  the  juice.  It  is  now  put  into 
casks,  and  the  sweet  or  sugar  stage  of  fermentation,  which, 
is  already  begun,  soon  passes  into  the  vinous  or  alcoholic 
stage,  as  it  is  called,  and  alcohol  is  formed.  The  prudent 
farmer  at  this  point,  when  the  juice  is  done  working,  or  fer- 
menting, immediately  bungs  his  casks,  and  does  such  other 
things  as  his  skill  and  experience  may  suggest  to  prevent 
his  cider  becoming  sour,  which  it  will  do  if  the  third  stage 
of  fermentation  is  permitted  to  succeed.  Here  then  he  has 
perfect  alcohol,  though  in  small  proportions : as  perfect  as 
it  is  in  brandy,  gin,  rum,  and  whiskey.  The  same  results 
ensue  from  subjecting  corn,  rye,  barley,  &c.  to  such  pro- 
cesses as  is  customary  to  prepare  them  for  distillation,  viz. 
to  such  a degree  of  fermentation  as  that  alcohol  is  formed. 
And  when  the  alcohol  is  formed  by  fermentation,  then  it  is 
drawn  off  by  distilling,  from  its  union  with  the  other  ma- 
terials in  the  fermented  mass.  Alcohol  then  is  strictly  the 
product  of  fermentation.  It  is  not  and  cannot  be  produced 
in  any  other  way.  To  distill,  therefore,  is  only  to  lead  it 
off  from  its  union  with  the  vegetable  mass,  and  show  it 
naked  with  all  its  virulence. 

I have  been  the  more  particular  in  this  explanation,  in 
order  to  remove  those  objections  which  are  sometimes  raised 
10 


4 


FO0R  REASONS  AGAINST 


[4 


by  well  meaning  persons  against  the  disuse  of  alcoholic 
drinks.  “ Your  doctrine,”  say  some,  “ must  lead  to  the  re- 
jection of  all  vegetable  substances ; even  bread,  the  staff  of 
life.”  Not  seeing  the  distinction,  that  alcohol  is  no  more  resi- 
dent in  vegetable  matter  without  the  latter  having  undergone 
a definite  and  precise  stage  of  fermentation,  even  admitting  it 
to  hold,  as  it  does,  all  the  materials  for  the  formation  of  al- 
cohol, than  that  bricks  are  ready  formed  and  burnt  to  our 
hand  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth,  because  the  earth  contains 
all  the  materials  necessary  to  their  formation. 

Having  considered  the  manner  in  which  alcohol  is  form- 
ed, let  us  examine  some  of  its  properties.  It  contains  no- 
thing that  can  afford  any  nourishment  to  the  body,  and  con- 
sequently it  can  impart  no  strength.  When  taken  in  cer- 
tain quantities,  diluted  with  water,  as  it  must  be  for  com- 
mon use,  its  effect  is,  to  arouse  the  energies  of  the  system, 
and  for  awhile  the  individual  feels  stronger ; but  this  ex- 
citement is  always  followed  by  depression  and  loss  of  ani- 
mal and  mental  vigor.  Thus  it  is  a mere  provocative  to 
momentary  personal  effort,  without  affording  any  resources 
to  direct  or  execute.  Hence  the  fallacy  of  that  doctrine 
held  by  some,  that  to  accomplish  deeds  of  daring,  feats  of 
muscular  strength,  &c.  with  success,  demands  the  drinking 
of  spiritous  liquors.  Were  I about  to  storm  an  enemy’s 
battery  with  no  alternative  before  me  but  victory  or  death, 
I might  (principle  aside)  infuriate  my  men  with  the  mad- 
dening influence  of  ardent  spirit,  and  let  them  loose  upon 
the  charge,  as  I would  a wounded  elephant  or  an  enraged 
tiger.  But  in  attaining  an  object  to  which  the  combined 
energies  of  mind  and  body  were  requisite,  I should  never 
think  of  the  appropriateness  of  spiritous  liquor  to  aid  the 
effort. 

But  an  objector  says,  “ I certainly  feel  stronger  upon 
drinking  a glass  of  spirit  and  water,  and  can  do  more  work 
than  I can  without  it.”  I can  swing  a sc3'the  with  more 
nerve,  or  pitch  a load  of  haj^  in  less  time ; and  feel  a gene- 
ral invigoration  of  mj-^  bodj’^  during  the  heat  of  a summers 
day,  after  having  drank  a quantity  of  grog.  How  is  this  ?” 
We  reply;  doubtless  jmu  feel  for  the  moment  all  that  you 
describe ; but  your  feeling  strength  thus  suddenh'  excite<h 
is  far  from  being  proof  that  you  are  really  an\'  stronger. 
The  opposite  is  the  fact ; which  we  infer  from  the  inade- 


6] 


THE  USE  OF  ALCOHOLIC  LIQUORS. 


5 


quacy  of  any  substance,  be  it  ever  so  nutritious,  to  impart 
strength  so  suddenly,  as  it  would  stem  ardent  spirit  did 
when  drank : for  there,  has  not  been  sufficient  time  for  di- 
gestion, through  which  process  only  can  any  substantial 
nourishment  be  derived  to  the  body.  The  affarent  .strength 
which  an  individual  feels  upon  drinking  ardent  spirit,  is  the 
same  in  kind  though  not  in  degree,  with  that  which  a man 
feels  who  has  lain  sick  with  a fever  fifteen  or  twenty  days, 
during  which  time  he  has  taken  little  food,  and  been  sub- 
jected to  the  weakening  influence  of  medicines ; but  who 
on  a sudden  manifests  great  strength,  striving  to  rise  from 
his  bed,  &c.  and  in  his  delirious  efforts  must  be  restrained 
perhaps  by  force.  Now  no  man  in  his  senses  will  call  this 
any  real  increase  of  strength  in  the  sick  man,  who  has 
been  starving  thus  long;  but  only  a rallying  of  the  powers 
of  life  under  the  stimulus  of  disease,  which  is  always  fol- 
lowed by  extreme  langor  and  debility,  if  not  by  death.  So 
it  is  with  the  individual  under  the  influence  of  ardent  spirit; 
he  feels  the  powers  of  his  body  excited  from  the  stimulus 
of  the  spirit ; yet,  as  we  think  must  be  clear  to  the  appre- 
hension of  any  one,  without  any  addition  of  actual  strength. 

Again,  alcohol  is  not  only  innutritions,  but  is  poisonous. 
Taken  into  the  stomach  in  an  undiluted  and  concentrated'. 
state,  in  quantities  of  two  or  three  teaspoonfulls,  it  destroys; 
life,  as  clearly  shown  in  Accum’s  experiments.  Combined 
with  different  porportions  of  water,  sugar,  &c.  it  is  modified 
in  its  effects.  Most  of  the  vegetable  and  mineral  poisons; 
may  be  so  diluted  and  modified  as  to  be  capable  of  appli- 
cation to  the  bodies  of  men  internally  without  producing 
immediate  fatal  consequences ; which  nevertheless  cannot 
be  used  any  length  of  time,  even  thus  disarmed,  without 
producing  pernicious  effects.  So  it  is  with  alcohol ; like 
other  poisons,  it  cannot  be  used  any  length  of  time,  even 
diluted  and  modified,  without  proving  pernicious  to  health, 
and  if  persevered  in,  in  considerable  quantities,  inevitably 
destructive  to  life.  This  last  sentiment,  however,  we  will 
consider  more  particularly  under  the 

Third  Reason  for  the  disuse  of  alcohol : It  destroys 
loth  body  and  soul.  It  is  estimated  that  thirty  or  forty 
thousand  died  annually  in  the  United  States  from  the  in- 
temperate use  of  ardent  spirit  before  the  Temperance  Re- 

1* 


6 


FOUR  REASONS  AGAINST 


[6 


formation  began.  Thirty  or  forty  thousand!  a sacrifice 
seldom  matched  by  war,  or  pestilence.  The  blood  which 
flowed  from  the  veins  of  our  martyred  countrymen,  in  the 
cause  of  freedom,  never  reached  this  annual  sacrifice. 
And  the  pestilential  cholera,  ruthless  as  it  is,  which  has 
marked  its  desolating  track  through  many  of  our  to^vns 
and  cities,  numbers  not  an  amount  of  victims  like  this 
plague,  much  as  its  virulence  has  been  enhanced  by  ardent 
spirit.  The  destructive  influence  of  immoderate  drinking 
upon  the  bodily  powers  of  men,  is  painfully  apparent,  some- 
times long  before  the  fatal  catastrophe.  The  face,  the 
speech,  the  eyes,  the  walk,  the  sleep,  the  breath,  all  pro- 
claim the  drying  up  of  the  springs  of  life.  And  although 
abused  nature  Avill  often  struggle,  and  struggle,  and  strug- 
gle, to  maintain  the  balance  of  her  powers,  and  restore  her 
wasted  energies,  she  is  compelled  to  yield  at  length  to  sui- 
cidal violence. 

The  effect  of  the  habitual  use  of  ardent  spirit  upon  the 
health,  is  much  greater  than  is  generally  supposed.  An 
individual  who  is  in  the  habit  of  drinking  spirits  daily,  al- 
though he  may  not  fall  under  the  character  of  a drunkard, 
is  undermining  his  constitution  gradually,  but  certainly; 
as  a noble  building,  standing  by  the  side  of  a small  unno- 
ticed rivulet,  whose  current  steals  along  under  its  founda- 
tion, and  carries  away  from  its  support  sand  after  sand,  has 
its  security  certainly  though  imperceptibly  impaired,  and 
finally  falls  into  utter  ruin.  A large  proportion  of  the  in- 
mates of  our  mad  houses  are  the  victims  of  ardent  spirit. 
Our  hospitals  and  poor  houses  speak  volumes  of  the  ruin 
that  awaits  the  bodily  powers  of  those  who  indulge  in  even 
moderate  tippling.  It  exposes  the  system  to  much  greater 
ravages  when  disease  attacks  it.  The  powers  of  nature  are 
weakened,  and  less  able  to  resist  disease ; and  medicines 
will  never  act  so  promptly  and  kindly  upon  those  who  are 
accustomed  to  strong  drink  as  upon  those  who  are  not. 

But  where  is  the  soul,  the  disembodied  spirit  of  a de- 
ceased drunkard  ! “ No  drunkard  shall  inherit  the  king- 

dom of  God”  is  the  plain  declaration  of  sacred  writ;  and 
were  there  no  such  scriptural  denunciation  of  the  wretched 
inebriate,  the  very  nature  of  his  case  would  render  his 
prospect  dark  and  dismal.  In  the  intervals  of  his  cups, 
when  his  animal  powers  are  not  goaded  by  artificial  ex- 


(7]  THE  USE  OF  ALCOHOLIC  LKiUORS.  7 

iCitement,  his  distressed  spirit  partakes  of  the  horrible  col- 
lapse of  its  polluted  tenement ; and  can  contemplate  no  mo- 
five,  however  weighty,  nor  entertain  any  other  thought,  be 
it  ever  so  interesting,  than  how  to  relieve  its  present  wretch- 
edness, the  aches  of  its  clayey  prison.  When  then  can  the 
unhappy  man  find  peace  with  God  amid  this  tumult  of  his 
unbalanced  faculties ; this  perturbation  of  his  unholy  pas- 
sions ? How  utterly  unfitted  to  perform  those  duties  which 
are  requisite  to  secure  a blessed  immortality. 

Our  Fourth  Reason  for  the  disuse  of  alcoholic  liquors 
is,  that  any  thing  short  of  entire  abstinence  exposes  to  all 
.the  dread  consequences  just  named.  Here  is  the  grand 
hope  of  our  cause.  TOTAL  ABSTINENCE  defies  all 
danger  and  mocks  at  consequences.  With  it  we  are  safe; 
without  it,  in  peril. 

No  man  was  ever  born  a drunkard ; nor  are  we  born 
with  a natural  taste  or  thirst  for  alcoholic  drinks,  any  more 
than  we  are  born  with  an  appetite  for  aloes,  assafcetida, 
or  any  other  drug  or  medicine.  And  the  child  when  first 
taught  to  take  it,  is  induced  to  do  so  only  by  sweetening  it, 
and  thus  rendering  it  palatable,  as  is  the  case  with  other 
medicines.  Neither  is  it  at  any  time  the  taste  or  flavor  of 
alcohol  exclusively  that  presents  such  charms  for  the  use 
of  it;  but  in  the  efliect  upon  the  stomach  and  nerves  lie  all 
the  magic  and  witchery  of  this  destructive  agent.  In  proof 
of  this,  watch  the  trembling  victim  of  strong  drink  while 
, he  pours  down  his  morning  or  mid-day  dram,  and  see  him 
retch  and  strangle  like  a sickened  cMld  at  a nauseous  me- 
dicine. Ask  him  too,  and  he  will  confess  it  is  not  the  taste 
he  loves,  and  for  which  he  drinks.  Intemperate  drinking 
is  ever  the  result  of  what  has  been  mis-named  temperate 
drinking.  “ Taking  a little”  when  we  are  too  cold,  or  too 
hot,  or  wet,  or  fatigued,  or  low  spirited,  or  have  a pain  in 
the  stomach,  or  to  keep  off"  fevers,  or  from  politeness  to  a 
friend,  or  not  to  appear  singular  in  company,  &c.  &c.  or 
as  is  sometimes  churlishly  said,  “ when  we  have  a mind  to.” 

And  here  I shall  step  aside  a little  from  the  main  argu- 
ment, and  attempt  to  explain  the  effects  which  temperate 
.drinking  has  upon  the  animal  system;  and  how  it  leads  to 
ruinous  drunkenness,  by  a law  of  our  natures,  certain 
and  Invariable.  The  nervous  system,  as  I have  said,  is 


8 


FOUR  REASONS  AGAINST 


[8 


that  department  of  our  bodies  which  suffers  most  from  stimu- 
lants and  narcotics.  Although  the  circulation  of  the  blood 
is  increased,  and  all  the  animal  spirits  roused  by  alcoholic 
drink;  still  the  nerves  are  the  organs  that  must  finally  bear 
the  brunt  and  evil  of  this  undue  excitation.  Thus  we  see 
in  the  man  who  has  been  over-excited  by  these  stimulants, 
a trembling  hand,  an  infirm  step,  and  impaired  mental  vi- 
gor. The  excitability  of  our  system  (and  by  this  term 
we  mean  that  property  of  our  natures  which  distinguishes 
all  living  from  dead  matter)  is  acted  upon  by  stimuli,  either 
external  or  internal ; and  it  is  by  various  stimuli,  applied 
properly,  and  in  due  proportion,  that  the  various  functions 
of  life  are  kept  up.  Thus  a proper  portion  of  food,  and 
drink,  and  heat,  and  exercise,  serves  to  maintain  that  bal- 
ance of  action  among  all  the  organs,  which  secures  health 
to  the  individual.  But  if  an  agent  is  applied  to  the  system, 
exerting  stimulant  powers  exceeding  those  that  are  neces- 
sary for  carrying  on  the  vital  functions  steadily ; an  excite- 
ment ensues,  which  is  always  followed  by  a corresponding 
collapse.  This  principle  is  clearly  illustrated  by  the  stimu- 
lus of  alcohol.  If  a person  unaccustomed  to  its  use,  re- 
ceives into  his  stomach  a given  quantity  of  distilled  spirits, 
it  will  soon  produce  symptoms  of  universal  excitation. 
The  pulse  increases  in  frequency;  the  action  of  all  the  ani- 
mal functions  is  quickened,  and  even  the  soul,  partaking  of 
the  impulse  of  its  fleshly  tabernacle,  is  unduly  aroused. 
But  this  is  of  short  duration ; and  a sinking  or  collapse 
proportioned  to  the  ^excitement,  soon  takes  place,  with  a de- 
rangement, more  or  less,  of  all  the  organs  of  the  body. 
The  stimulus  repeated,  the  same  effect  ensues.  We  must 
however  notice  that  the  same  quantity  of  any  unnatural 
stimulus,  (such  as  opium,  spirit,  &c.)  frequently  repeated, 
fails  to  produce  its  specific  effect.  Hence,  in  order  to  se- 
cure the  same  effect,  it  is  necessary  to  increase  its  quantity. 
Thus  to  a person  indulging  in  the  frequent  or  stated  prac- 
tice of  drinking,  before  he  is  aware,  the  repetition  becomes 
pleasant.  As  the  accustomed  hour  returns  for  his  dram, 
he  regularly  remembers  it;  again  and  again  he  drinks: 
the  desire  increases : he  makes  himself  believe  it  is  neces- 
sary from  the  very  fact  that  he  desires  it:  the  principle  or 
law,  of  which  we  have  been  speaking,  developes  itself;  an 
increased  quantity  becomes  necessary  to  ensure  a feeling 


THE  USE  OF  ALCOHOLIC  LIQUORS. 


9 


9J 


of  gratification:  more,  and  still  more  becomes  necessary, 
and  oftener  repeated,  until  without  it  he  is  miserable  his 
over-excited  system  is  perfectly  wretched,  soul  and  body, 
without  the.  constant  strain  which  the  stimulus  affords. 

Here  is  a solution  of  the  fact  that  has  astonished  thou- 
sands; how  the  unhappy  drunkard,  with  all  the  certain 
consequences  of  his  course  staring  him  in  the  face,  and 
amid  the  entreaties  and  arguments  of  distressed  friends, 
and  the  solemn  denunciations  of  holy  writ  sounding  in  his 
ears,  and  the  sure  prospect  of  an  untimely  grave ; will  still 
press  on,  and  hold  the  destroyer  still  firmer  to  his  lips.  It 
is  because  nature  shrieks  at  every  pore,  if  I may  be  allowed 
the  expression.  Every  nerve,  every  vein,  every  fibre,  pines, 
and  groans,  and  aches  for  its  accustomed  stimulus.  No 
substitute  will  do:  no  ransom  can  purchase  relief : insatiate 
as  the  grave,  every  fibre  cries  give!  give!  The  dictates 
of  reason  are  drowned  in  the  clamor  of  the  senses.  Thus 
the  temperate  drinker,  by  persisting  in  the  practice,  throws 
himself  within  the  influence  of  a law  of  his  system,  of  which 
he  can  no  more  control  the  developement,  nor  resist  the 
urgency,  than  he  can  that  law  which  circulates  the  blood 
through  his  heart,  or  any  other  law  peculiar  to  animal  life. 
That  law  is  the  law  of  stimulation  ; which  is  never 
unduly  aroused,  except  by  sinful  indulgences ; but  when 
aroused  is  dreadfully  urgent.  We  will  state  a case  strik 
ingly  exemplifying  the  influence  of  this  law. 

A gentleman,  an  acquaintance  and  friend  of  the  writer, 
contracted  the  habit  of  drinking  during  his  college  course. 
He  settled  in  the  practice  of  the  law  in  one  of  the  villages 
of  his  native  state.  He  soon  became  invested  with  offices 
of  honor  and  profit,  and  although  young,  gave  promise  of 
shining  brilliantly  in  the  profession  he  had  chosen.  He 
was  the  pride  of  a large  and  respectable  family,  who  wit- 
nessed his  growing  prospects  with  that  satisfaction  and  de- 
light which  the  prosperity  of  a beloved  son  and  brother 
cannot  fail  to  impart.  In  the  midst  of  these  circumstances 
the  physician  was  one  day  called  in  haste  to  see  him.  He 
had  fallen  into  a fit.  His  manly  form  lay  stretched  upon 
the  carpet,  while  his  features  were  distorted,  and  purpled, 
from  the  agony  of  the  convulsions.  After  some  days,  how- 
ever, he  recovered,  without  having  sustained  any  perma- 
nent injury.  Being  in  company  with  his  physician  alone 


10 


FOUR  REASONS  AGAINST 


[10 


soon  after,  he  said  to  him,  “ I suspect  Sir  you  do  not  know 
the  cause  of  my  fit ; and  as  I may  have  a return  of  it,  when 
you  will  probably  be  called,  I think  it  proper  that  you  should 
be  made  acquainted  with  my  habits  of  life.  He  then  in- 
formed his  physician  that  for  a number  of  years  previous, 
he  had  been  in  the  daily  use  of  ardent  spirit,  that  the  prac- 
tice had  grown  upon  him  ever  since  he  left  college,  and 
that  he  was  conscious  it  injured  him.  However  it  was  not 
known  even  to  his  own  family  what  quantity  he  used.  His 
physician  did  not  hesitate  to  inform  him  of  the  extreme 
danger  to  his  life  in  persisting  in  the  use  of  intoxicating 
drinks.  He  acknowledged  his  perfect  conviction  of  the 
truth  of  all  that  was  said,  and  resolved  to  abandon  his  wick- 
ed course. 

Not  many  weeks  after  he  was  seized  with  another  fit ; 
but  owing  to  the  absence  of  the  family  physician  he  did 
not  see  him  until  some  time  after  he  had  come  out  of  it. 
The  physician  however  who  attended  informed  him  it  was 
violent.  After  repeated  assurances  of  his  increasing  dan- 
ger, and  the  remonstrances  of  friends,  who  had  now  began 
to  learn  the  real  cause  of  his  fits  ; he  renewed  his  promises 
and  determinations  to  reform,  and  entered  upon  a course  of 
total  abstinence,  which  he  maintained  for  several  months ; 
and  inspired  many  of  his  friends  with  pleasing  hopes  of  his 
entire  reform  and  the  re-establishment  of  his  health.  But 
alas,  in  an  unguarded  moment,  he  dared  to  taste  again  the 
forbidden  tup,  and  with  this,  fled  all  his  resolutions  and 
restraints.  From  that  time  he  drank  more  openly  and  free- 
ly. His  fits  returned  with  painful  violence ; friends  remon- 
strated, entreated,  pleaded,  but  all  in  vain.  He  thus  con- 
tinued his  course  of  intemperance,  with  intervals  of  fits 
and  sickness,  about  eight  or  ten  months,  and  at  length  died 
drunk  in  his  bed,  where  he  had  lain  for  two  or  three  weeks 
in  a continual  state  of  intoxication. 

The  writer  has  stated  this  case  in  detail,  to  show  the  in- 
fluence of  the  law  of  stimulation;  or  what  in  popular  lan- 
guage is  termed,  “ the  appetite  for  spiritous  liquors,”  when 
once  it  is  awakened. 

Here  we  have  the  instance  of  an  individual,  of  a fine 
and  cultivated  intellect,  with  every  thing  on  earth  to  ren- 
der him  happy,  that  could  be  comprised  in  wealth,  friends, 
honor  and  bright  prospects.  Ay,  indeed  too,  he  professed 


IIJ  THE  US«  OE  ALCOHOtlC  LIQUORS.  11 

an  interest  in  the  blood  of  the  Savior,  and  had  communed 
with  Christians  at  his  table ; surrounded  by  those  whom 
he  tenderly  loved,  the  wife  of  his  bosom,  and  the  dear 
pledges  of  her  devotion.  Y et,  in  spite  of  all  these  conside- 
rations, and  the  most  sensible  conviction  of  his  fatal  career, 
he  continued  to  drink,  and  thus  pressed  downward  to  the 
gate  of  death  and  hell ! 

Now  what  was  this ! What  giant’s  arm  dragged  this 
fair  victim  to  an  untimely  grave?  Was  it  for  the  want  of 
motives  and  obligations  to  pursue  an  opposite  course  ? No. 
Was  it  for  the  want  of  intellect,  and  talents,  to  appreciate 
those  obligations?  No,  Was  it  trouble,  arising  from  dis- 
appointed hopes  and  blasted  prospects  ? Certainly  by  those 
who  knew  him  best,  he  was  accounted  a man  who  might 
have  been  happy.  What  was  it  then  that  urged  this  indi- 
vidual, with  his  eyes  wide  open  upon  the  consequences, 
and  in  the  face  of  every  thing  most  dear ; thus  to  sacrifice 
his  all  upon  the  altar  of  intemperance?  It  was  that  law  of 
which  we  have  spoken  ; enkindled  into  action  by  his  tip- 
pling, and  which  once  developed,  he  could  no  more  con- 
trol, while  •persisting  in  his  pernicious  practice  of  drink- 
ing, than  he  could  have  hurled  the  Andes  from  its  base,  or 
have  plucked  the  Moon  from  her  orbit. 

We  say  then,  that  all  persons  who  drink  ardent  spirit 
habitually,  bring  themselves  inevitably  under  the  influence 
of  a law  peculiar  to  their  natures,  which  leads  on  to  ruin. 
Instances  may  indeed  have  occurred,  in  which  individuals 
have  used  ardent  spirit  daily  for  a long  course  of  years, 
and  yet  died  without  becoming  drunkards ; but  it  only 
proves  that  these  have  been  constitutions  that  could  resist 
the  speedy  development  of  the  law  in  question.  Where  one 
individual  is  found  with  a constitution  vigorous  enough  to 
resist  the  development  of  this  law  through  a life  of  habi- 
tual drinking,  thousands  go  down  to  a drunkard’s  grave, 
and  a drunkard’s  retribution,  from  only  a few  years  indul- 
gence. 

We  have  thus  briefly  shown  the  immense  cost  of  the  use 
of  alcoholic  liquors.  We  have  shown  that  they  contain  no 
property  that  can  impart  substantial  strength  or  nourish- 
ment to  the  body ; and  that  they  are  actually  a poison.  We 
have  shown  that  they  destroy  both  body  and  soul;  clouding 
10* 


12 


FOCR  REASONS,  *e. 


[12 


the  view  of  truth,  and  resisting  the  influences  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  “ No  drunkard  shall  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God.” 
We  have  shown  that  the  temperate  use  of  these  liquors 
tends  inevitably  to  the  intemperate  use;  since  those  who 
drink  them  habitually  throw  themselves  within  the  in- 
fluence of  a law  of  their  natures,  which  leads  on  directly 
to  ruin. 

In  view  of  such  considerations  and  such  facts,  who  is  so 
degraded,  so  enslaved  to  appetite,  or  the  love  of  gain,  that 
he  will  not  lend  his  aid  to  the  Temperance  Reform? 
Who  will  indulge  in  what  he  calls  the  temperate  use,  flat- 
tering himself  that  he  can  control  his  appetite,  when  thou- 
sands, who  have  boasted  of  self-control,  have  found  them- 
selves, ere  they  were  aware,  within  the  coil  of  a serpent, 
whose  touch  is  poison,  and  whose  sting  is  death.  O,  who 
that  regards  his  neighbor,  his  family,  his  own  reputation, 
or  his  own  soul,  will  in  this  day  of  light  be  found  dallying 
with  that,  which  affords  at  best,  only  sensual  pleasure,  and 
which  at  the  last  biteth  like  a serpent,  and  stingeth  like  an 
adder  ! 


GAINS  BY  intemperance. 

I saw  not  long  since,  standing  before  the  counter  of  a 
professor  of  religion,  a wife  with  her  daughter,  begging  the 
professor  of  religion,  not  to  sell  any  more  liquor  to  her  hus- 
band. This  woman  had  been  bom  to  affluence,  and  was 
reduced  to  poverty  by  the  drunkenness  of  her  husband. 
The  professor  had  sold  him  the  first  gallon  of  spirits,  and 
his  wife  was  sleeping  on  the  bed  which  had  once  belonged 
to  the  drunkard’s  wife.  His  children  were  adorned  with 
the  orneiments  which  once  belonged  to  the  drankard’s  chil- 
dren. Re,.  II,.  Hunt,  of  N.  C. 


END. 


No.  300. 


DEBATES  OF  CONSCIENCE 

WITH  A 

Distiller,  a Wholesale  Dealer,  and  a RetaUcr. 


BY  HEMAN  HUMPHREY,  D.  D. 
President  of  Amherst  College. 


DIALOGUE  1. 

At  the  Distillery. 

/ 

FIRST  INTERVIEW. 

Distiller.  Good  morning,  Mr.  Conscience;  though  I 
know  you  to  be  one  of  the  earliest  risers,  especially  of  late, 
I hardly  expected  to  meet  you  here  at  day  dawn. 

Conscience.  I am  none  too  early,  it  seems,  to  find  you  at 
your  vocation.  But  how  are  you  going  to  dispose  of  this 
great  black  building  1 ^ 

Distiller.  Wh}^  I do  no^un^gstand  you  ? 

Conscience.  What  are  you  ^ng  with  thes'‘  boiling  cra- 
ters, and  that  hideous  worm  there  ? 

Distiller.  Pray  explain  yourself. 

Conscience.  Whose  grain  is  that  ? and  what  is  bread  call- 
ed in  the  Bible? 

Distiller.  More  enigmatical  still ! 

Conscience.  To  what  market  do  you  mean  to  send  that 
long  ro  7 of  casks  ? and  how  many  of  them  will  it  take, 
upon  an  average,  to  dig  a drunkard's  grave  ? 

Distiller.  Ah,  I understand  you  now.  I was  hoping  that 
I had  quieted  you  on  that  score.  But,  I perceive  you  have 
come  upon  the  old  errand.  You  intend  to  read  me  another 


DEBATES  OF  CONSCIENCE. 


2 


1122 


lecture  upon  the  sixth  commandment.  But  what  would 
you  have  me  do  ? 

Conscience.  Put  out  these  fires ! 

Distiller.  Nay,  but  hear  me.  I entered  into  this  business 
with  your  approbation.  The  neighbors  all  encouraged  me. 
My  brethren  in  the  church  said  it  would  open  a fine  mar- 
ket for  their  rye,  ai.d  corn,  and  cider ; and  even  my  minister, 
happening  to  come  along  when  we  were  raising,  took  a 
little  with  us  under  the  shade,  and  said  he  loved  to  see  his 
people  industrious  and  enterprising. 

Conscience.  “ The  times  of  this  ignorance  God  winked 
at — but  now  commandeth  all  men,  every  where,  to  repent.” 
In  one  part  of  your  defence,  at  least,  you  are  incorrect.  It 
was  not  my  voice,  but  my  silence,  if  any  thing,  which  gave 
consent ; and  I have  always  suspected  there  was  some  foul 
play  in  the  matter,  -and  that  I was  kept  quiet  for  the  time 
by  certain  deleterious  opiates.  Indeed,  I distinctly  recollect 
the  morning  bitters  and  evening  toddy,  which  you  was  ac- 
customed to  give  me;  and  though  I thought  but  little  of  it 
then,  I now  see  that  it  deadened  all  my  sensibilities.  This, 
I am  aware,  is  no  excuse  I ought  to  have  resisted — I ought 
to  have  refused,  and  to  Tiave  paralyzed  the  hand  which  put 
the  cup  to  my  lips.  Anckj^hen  you  struck  the  first  stroke 
on  this  gro'.nd,  I ought  t7-have  warned  you  off  with  the 
voice  of  seven  thunders.  That  I did  not  then  speak  out,  and 
do  my  duty,  will  cause  me  extreme  regret  and  self-reproach 
to  the  latest  hour  of  my  life. 

Distiller.  But  what,  my  dear  Conscience,  has  made  you 
all  at  once  so  much  wiser,  not  only  than  your  former  seif, 
but  than  hundreds  of  enlightened  men  in  every  community, 
whose  piety  was  never  doubted  ? I myself  know,  nnd  have 
heard  of  not  a few  good  Christians,  including  even  deacons 
and  elders,  who  still  continue  to  manufacture  ardent  spirit, 
and  think,  or  seem  to  think  it  right. 

Conscience.  And  think  it  right ! Ask  their  consciences. 


123] 


DEBATES  OF  CONSCIENCE. 


3 


I should  like  to  witness  some  of  those  interviev/s  which 
take  place  in  the  night,  and  which  make  Christian  distil- 
lers— (what  a solecism !) — so  much  more  irritable  than  they 
used  to  be.  I know  one  of  the  brotherhood,  at  least,  whose 
conscience  has  been  goading  him  these  five  years,  and  yet 
he  perseveres. 

Distiller.  But  if  I stop,  what  will  the  people  do?  Half 
the  farmers  in  town  depend  upon  their  rye  and  cider  to  pay 
their  taxes,  and  even  to  support  the  Gospel ! 

Conscience.  So  then,  you  are  pouring  out  these  streams 
of  liquid  death  over  tlie  land,  and  burning  up  your  own 
neighbors,  to  enable  them  to  pay  their  taxes  and  support  re- 
ligion ! Why  don’t  you  set  up  a coffin  factory,  to  create  a 
brisker  demand  for  lumber,  and  induce  people  to  die  faster, 
so  as  on  the  one  hand  to  help  them  pay  their  taxes,  and  on 
the  other  to  give  you  a fair  profit,  by  increasing  your  busi- 
ness ! It  will  not  do.  I tell  you,  that  I can  give  you  no 
peace  till  you  put  out  these  fires  and  destroy  that  worm. 

Distiller.  How  can  I ? Here  is  all  my  living,  especially 
since,  as  you  know,  my  eldest  son  fell  into  bad  habits,  in 
spite  of  all  the  good  advice  I daily  gave  him,  and  squan- 
dered what  might  have  afforded  me  a comfortable  inde- 
pendence. 

Conscience.  Suppose  you  was  now  in  Brazil,  and  the 
owner  of  a large  establishment  to  fit  out  slave  traders  with 
hand-cuffs  for  the  coast  of  Africa,  and  could  not  change 
your  business  without  considerable  pecuniary  sacrifice ; 
would  you  make  the  sacrifice;  or  would  you  keep  your 
fires  and  hammers  still  going  ? 

Distiller.  Why  do  you  ask  such  puzzling  questions? 
You  know  I don’t  like  them  at  all,  especially  when  my 
mind  is  occupied  with  other  subjects.  Leave  me,  at  least 
till  I can  compose  myself,  I beseech  you. 

Conscience.  Nay,  but  hear  me  through.  Is  it  right  for 
you  to  go  on  manufacturing  fevers,  dropsy,  consumption,  de- 


4 


DEBATES  OF  CONSCIENCE. 


fl24 


lirium  tremens,  and  a host  of  other  frightful  diseases,  be- 
cause your  property  happens  to  be  vested  in  a distillery? 
Is  it  consistent  with  the  great  law  of  love  by  which  you 
profess  to  be  governed?  Will  it  bear  examination  in  a dy- 
ing hour  ? Shall  I bid  you  look  back  upon  it  from  the  brink 
of  eternity,  that  you  may  from  such  recollections  gather 
holy  courage  for  your  pending  conflict  with  the  king  of 
terrors  ? Will  you  bequeath  this  magazine  of  wrath  and  per- 
dition to  your  only  son  not  already  ruined,  and  go  out  of  the 
world  rejoicing  that  you  can  leave  the  whole  concern  in  the 
hands  of  one  who  is  so  trust-worthy  and  so  dear? 

[Here  the  Distiller  leaves  abruftly,  without  answering 
a vjord.] 


SECOND  INTERVIEW. 

Distiller.  {Seeing  Conscience  approach,  and  beginning  to 
tremble.)  What,  so  soon  and  so  early  at  your  post  again  ? 
I did  hope  for  a short  respite. 

Conscience.  O,  I am  distressed — I cannot  hold  my  peace. 
I am  pained  at  my  very  heart. 

Distiller.  Do  be  composed,  I beseech  you,  and  hear 
what  I have  to  say.  Since  our  last  interview  I have  resolved 
to  sell  out,  and  I expect  the  purchaser  on  in  a very  few  days. 

Conscience.  What  will  he  do  with  the  establishment  when 
he  gets  it  ? 

Distiller.  You  must  ask  him  and  not  me.  But  whatever 
he  may  do  with  it,  I shall  be  clear, 
i Conscience.  I wish  I could  be  sure  of  that ; but  let  us  see. 
j Though  you  will  not  make  poison  by  the  hundred  barrels 
any  longer  yourself,  you  will  sell  this  laboratory  of  death 
to  another  man,  for  the  same  horrid  purpose ! Y ou  will  net, 
with  your  own  hands,  go  on  forging  daggers  for  maniacs 
to  use  upon  themselves  and  their  friends,  provided  you  can 
get  some  one  to  take  your  business  at  a fair  price!  You 


125] 


DEBATES  OF  CONSCIENCE. 


£ 

will  no  longer  drag  the  car  of  Juggernaut  over  the  bodies 
of  prostrate  devotees,  if  you  can  sell  out  the  privilege  to  good 
advantage  I 

Distiller.  Was  ever  any  man’s  conscience  so  captious 
before?  You  seem  determined  not  to  be  satisfied  with  any 
thing.  But  beware ; by  pushing  matters  in  this  way  you 
will  produce  a violent  “ reaction.”  Even  professors  of  reli- 
gion will  not  bear  it.  For  myself,  I wish  to  treat  you  with 
all  possible  respect;  but  forbearance  itself  must  have  its 
limits. 

Conscience.  Possibly  you  may  be  able  to  hold'  me  in 
check  a little  longer;  but  I am  all  the  while  gathering 
strength  for  an  onset,  which  you  cannot  withstand;  and  if 
you  cannot  bear  these  kind  remonstrances  now,  how  will 
you  grapple  with  “ the  worm  that  never  dies?” 

Distiller.  Enough,  enough.  I will  obey  your  voice.  But 
why  so  pale  and  death-like  ? 

Conscience.  O,  I am  sick,  I am  almost  suffocated.  Those 
tartarean  fumes,  these  dreadful  forebodings,  these  heart-rend- 
ing sights,  and  above  all,  my  horrid  dreams,  I cannot  en- 
dure them.  There  comes  our  nearest  neighbor,  stealing 
across  the  lots,  with  his  jug  and  half  bushel  of  rye.  What  is 
his  errand,  and  where  is  his  hungry,  shivering  family  ? And 
see  there  too,  that  tattered,  half-starved  boy,  just  entering 
the  yard  with  a bottle — who  sent  him  here  at  this  early 
hour?  All  these  barrels — where  are  the  wretched  beings 
who  are  to  consume  this  liquid  fire,  and  to  be  consumed 

by  it? 

Distiller.  Spare  me,  spare  me,  I beseech  you.  By  going 
on  at  this  rate  a little  longer  you  will  make  me  as  ner"ou3 
as  yourself 

Conscience.  But  I cannot  close  this  interview  till  I have 
related  one  of  the  dreams  to  which  I just  alluded.  It  was 
only  last  night  that  I suffered  in  this  way,  more  than  tongue 
can  tell.  The  whole  terrific  vision  is  written  in  letters  of 

2F 


’^ol.  10. 


6 DEBATES  OF  CONSCIENCE.  [li,6 

fire  upon  the  tablet  of  my  memory ; and  I feel  it  all  the 
while  burning  deeper  and  deeper. 

I thought  I stood  by  a great  river  of  melted  lava,  and 
while  I was  wondering  from  what  mountain  or  vast  abyss  it 
came,  suddenly  the  field  of  my  vision  was  extended  to  the 
distance  of  several  hundred  miles,  and  I perceived  that,  in- 
^ stead  of  springing  from  a single  source,  this  rolling  torrent  of 
fire  was  fed  by  numerous  tributary  streams,  and  these  again 
by  smaller  rivulets.  And  what  do  you  think  I heard  and 
beheld,  as  I stood  petrified  with  astonishment  and  horror ! 
There  were  hifhdreds  of  poor  wretches  struggling  and  just 
sinking  in  the  merciless  flood.  As  I contemplated  the  scene 
still  more  attentively,  the  confused  noise  of  boisterous  and 
profane  merriment,  mingled  with  loud  shiieks  of  despair, 
saluted  my  ears.  The  hair  of  my  head  stood  up — and  look- 
ing this  way  and  that  way,  I beheld  crowds  of  men,  women 
and  children,  thronging  down  to  the  very  margin  of  the  ri- 
ver— some  eagerly  bowing  down  to  slake  their  thirst  with  the 
consuming  liquid,  and  others  convulsively  striving  to  hold 
them  back.  Some  I saw  actually  pushing  their  neighbors 
headlong  from  the  treacherous  bank,  and  others  encourag- 
ing  them  to  plunge  in,  by  holding  up  the  fiery  temptation 
to  their  view.  To  ensure  a sufficient  depth  of  the  river,  so 
that  destruction  might  be  made  doubly  sure,  I saw  a great 
number  of  men,  and  some  whom  I knew  to  be  members  of 
the  church,  laboriously  turning  their  respective  contribu- 
tions of  the  glowing  and  hissing  liquid,  into  the  main  chan- 
nel. This  was  more  than  I could  bear.  I v.-as  in  perfect  tor- 
ture. But  when  I expostulated  with  those  ■who  were  nearest 
to  the  place  where  I stood,  they  coolly  answered.  This  is 
! the  way  hi  ivhich  we  get  oar  living ! 

1 But  what  shocked  me  more  than  all  the  rest,  and  curdled 
every  drop  of  blood  in  my  veins,  was  the  sight  which  I had 
of  this  very  distillery  pouring  out  its  tributary  stream  of 
fire  ! And  O,  it  distracts,  it  maddens  me  to  think  of  it.  There 
you  yourself  stood  feeding  the  torrent  which  had  already 


127] 


DEBATES  OF  CONSCIENCE. 


7 


swallowed  up  some  of  your  own  family,  and  threatened 
every  moment  to  sweep  you  away  ! This  last  circumstance 
brought  me  from  the  bed,  by  one  convulsive  bound,  into  the 
middle  of  the  room ; and  I awoke  in  an  agony  which  I veri- 
ly believe  I could  not  have  sustained  for  another  moment. 

Distiller.  I will  feed  the  torrent  no  longer.  The  fires 
of  my  distillery  shall  be  put  out.  From  this  day,  from  this 
hour,  I renounce  the  manufacture  of  ardent  spirit  for  ever. 


DIALOGUE  II. 

Wholesale  Dealer’s  Counting  Room. 

Conscience,  {hooking  over  the  ledger  with  a serious  air.) 
What  is  that  last  invoice  from  the  West-Indies? 

Rum  Dealer.  Only  a few  casks  of  fourth  proof,  for  par- 
ticular customers. 

Conscience.  And  that  domestic  poison,  via  New-Orleans; 
and  on  the  next  page,  that  large  consignment,  via  Erie 
Canal  ? 

Dealer.  O,  nothing  but  two  small  lots  of  prime  whiskey, 
such  as  we  have  been  selling  these  twenty  years.  But  why 
these  chiding  inquiries?  They  disquiet  me  exceedingly. 
And  to  tell  you  the  plain  truth,  I am  more  than  half  offended 
at  this  morbid  inquisitiveness. 

Conscience.  Ah,  I am  afraid,  as  I have  often  told  you, 
that  this  is  a bad  business ; and  the  more  I think  of  it,  the 
more  it  troubles  me. 

Dealer.  Why  so?  You  are  always  preaching  up  indus- 
try as  a Christian  virtue,  and  my  word  for  it,  were  I to  ne- 
glect my  business,  and  saunter  about  the  hotels  and  steam- 
boat wharves,  as  some  do,  you  would  fall  into  convulsions, 
as  if  I had  committed  the  unpardonable  sin. 

Conscience.  Such  pettish  quibbling  is  utterly  unworthy 


8 


DEBATES  OF  CONSCIENCE. 


(128 


of  your  good  sense  and  ordinary  candor.  You  know,  as 
well  as  I do,  the  great  difference  between  industry  in  so.Tie 
safe  and  honest  calling,  and  driving  a business  which  car- 
ries poverty  and  ruin  to  thousands  of  families. 

Dealer.  i/oKcsi  industry ! This  is  more  cruel  still.  You 
have  known  me  too  long  to  throw  out  such  insinuations ; 
and  besides,  it  is  notorious,  that  some  of  the  first  merchants 
in  our  city  are  engaged,  far  more  extensively,  in  the  same 
traffic. 

Conscience.  Be  it  so.  “ To  their  own  Master  they  stand 
or  fall.”  But  if  fair  dealing  consists  in  “ doing  as  we  would 
be  done  by,”  how  can  a man  of  your  established  mercantile 
and  Christian  reputation  sustain  himself,  if  he  continues  to 
deal  in  an  article  which  he  knows  to  be  more  destructive 
than  all  the  plagues  of  Egypt  ? 

Dealer.  Do  you  intend,  then,  to  make  me  answerable  for 
all  the  mischief  that  is  done  by  ardent  spirit,  in  the  whole 
state  and  nation?  What  I sell  is  a mere  drop  of  the  buoket, 
compared  with  the  consumption  of  a single  county.  Where 
is  the  proof  that  the  little  which  my  respectable  customers 
carry  into  the  country,  with  their  other  groceries,  ever  does 
any  harm?  How  do  you  know  that  it  helps  to  make  such 
a frightful  host  of  drunkards  and  vagabonds  ? And  if  it  did, 
whose  fault  would  it  be  ? I never  gave  nor  sold  a glass  of 
whiskey  to  a tippler  in  my  life.  Let  those  who  will  drink  to 
excess,  and  make  brutes  of  themselves,  answer  for  it. 

Conscience.  Yes,  certainly  they  must  answer  for  it ; but 
will  that  excuse  those  who  furnish  the  poison?  Did  you 
never  hear  of  abettors  and  accessaries,  as  well  as  principals 
in  crime?  When  Judas,  in  all  the  agony  of  remorse  and 
despair,  threw  down  the  thirty  pieces  of  silver  before  the 
chief  priests  and  elders,  exclaiming,  I have  sinned,  in  that 
I have  betrayed  the  innocent  blood — they  coolly  answered. 
What  is  that  to  us  ? See  thou  to  that.  And  was  it  there- 
fore nothing  to  them  ? Had  they  no  hand  in  that  cruel  tra- 


129] 


DEBATES  OF  CONSCIENCE. 


9 


gcdy?  Was  it  nothing  to  Pilate — nothing  to  Herod — no- 
thing to  the  multitude  who  were  consenting  to  the  cruci- 
fixion of  the  Son  of  God — because  they  did  not  drive  the 
nails  and  thrust  the  spear? 

O,  when  I think  of  vhat  you  are  doing  to  destroy  the 
bodies  and  souls  of  men,  I cannot  rest.  It  terrifies  me  at  all 
hours  of  the  night.  Often  and  often,  when  I am  just  losing 
myself  in  sleep,  I am  startled  by  the  most  frightful  groans 
and  unearthly  imprecations,  coming  out  of  these  hogsheads. 
And  then,  those  long  processions  of  rough  made  coffins 
and  beggared  families,  which  I dream  of,  from  night-fall  till 
day-break,  they  keep  me  all  the  while  in  a cold  sweat,  and 
I can  no  longer  endure  them. 

Dealer.  Neither  can  I.  Something  must  be  done.  You 
have  been  out  of  your  head  more  than  half  the  time  for  this 
six  months.  I have  tried  all  the  ordinary  remedies  upon 
you  without  the  least  effect.  Indeed  every  new  remedy 
seems  only  to  aggravate  the  disease.  O,  what  would  not  I 
give  for  the  discovery  of  some  anodyne  wffiich  would  lay 
these  horrible  phantasms.  The  case  would  be  infinhely  less 
trying,  if  I could  sometimes  persuade  you,  for  a night  or 
two,  to  let  me  occupy  a different  apartment  from  yourself; 
for  when  your  spasms  come  on,  one  might  as  well  try  to 
sleep  with  embers  in  his  bosom,  as  where  you  are. 

Conscience.  Would  it  mend  the  matter  at  all,  if,  instead  of 
sometimes  dreaming,  I were  to  be  always  wide  awake  ? 

Dealer.  Ah,  there’s  the  grand  difficulty.  For  I find  that 
when  you  do  wake  up,  you  are  more  troublesome  than  ever. 
Then  you  are  always  harping  upon  my  being  a professor 
of  religion,  and  bringing  up  some  text  of  Scripture,  which 
might  as  well  be  let  alone,  and  which  you  would  not  ring 
in  my  ears,  if  you  had  any  regard  to  my  peace,  or  even  your 
own.  More  than  fifty  times,  within  a month,  have  you 
quoted,  “ By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them.'"  In  fact,  so 
uncharitable  have  you  grown  of  late,  that  from  the  drift  ol 
some  of  your  admonitions,  a stranger  would  think  me  but 


10 


DEBATES  OF  CONSCIENCE. 


[130 


little,  if  any,  better  than  a murderer.  And  all  because  some 
vagabond  or  other  may  possibly  happen  to  shorten  his 
days  by  drinking  a little  of  the  identical  spirit  which  passes 
througli  rny  hands. 

Conscience.  You  do  me  bare  justice  when  you  say,  that 
I have  often  reproved  you,  and  more  earnestly  of  late  than 
I formerly  did.  But  my  remonstrances  have  always  been 
between  you  and  me  alone.  If  I have  charged  you  with 
the  guilt  of  hurrying  men  to  the  grave  and  to  hell,  by  this 
vile  traffic,  it  has  not  been  upon  the  house-top.  I cannot,  it 
is  true,  help  knowing  how  it  grieves  your  brethren,  gratifies 
the  enemies  of  religion,  and  excites  the  scorn  of  drunkards 
themselves,  to  see  your  wharf  covered  with  the  fiery  ele- 
ment; but  I speak  only  in  your  oum  ear.  To  yourself  I 
have  wished  to  prove  a faithful  monitor,  though  I have  sad 
misgivings,  at  times,  even  with  regard  to  that.  You  will 
bear  me  witness,  however,  that  I have  sometimes  trembled 
exceedingly,  for  fear  that  I should  be  compelled,  at  Itist,  to 
carry  the  matter  up  by  indictment  to  the  tribunal  of  Eternal 
Justice. 

To  avoid  this  dreadful  necessity,  let  me  once  more  reason 
the  case  with  you  in  few  words.  You  know  perfectly  well, 
that  ardent  spirit  kills  its  tens  of  thousands  in  the  United 
States  every  year;  and  there  is  no  more  room  to  doubt  that 
many  of  these  lives  are  destroyed  by  the  very  liquor  which 
you  sell,  than  if  you  saw  them  staggering  under  it  into  the 
drunkard’s  grave.  How  then  can  you  possibly  throw  off 
blood-guiltiness,  with  the  light  which  you  now  enjoy  1 In 
faithfulness  to  your  soul,  and  to  Him  whose  vicegerent  I 
am,  I cannot  say  less  than  this,  especially  if  you  persist  any 
longer  in  the  horrible  traffic  ? 

Dealer.  Pardon  me,  my  dear  Conscience,  if  under  the 
excitement  of  the  moment  I complained  of  your  honest  and 
continued  importunity.  Be  assured,  there  is  no  friend  in 
the  world,  with  whom  I am  so  desirous  of  maintaining  a 


131] 


DEBATES  OF  CONSCIENCE. 


11 


good  understanding  as  with  yourself.  And  for  your  relief 
and  satisfaction,  I now  give  you  my  solemn  pledge,  that  I 
will  close  up  this  branch  of  my  business  as  soon  as  possi- 
ble. Indeed,  I have  commenced  the  process  already.  My 
last  consignments  are  less,  by  more  than  one  half,  than  were 
those  of  the  preceding  year ; and  1 intend  that,  when  an- 
other year  comes  about,  my  hooks  shall  speak  still  more 
decidedly  in  my  favor. 

Conscience.  These  resolutions  would  be  perfectly  satis- 
factory, if  they  were  in  the  f resent  tense.  But  if  it  was 
wrong  to  sell  five  hundred  casks  last  year,  how  can  it  be 
right  to  sell  two  hundred  this  year,  and  one  hundred  next? 
If  it  is  criminal  to  poison  forty  men  at  one  time,  how  can  it 
be  innocent  to  poison  twenty  at  another  ? If  you  may  not 
throw  a hundred  fire  brands  into  the  city,  how  will  you 
prove  that  you  may  throw  one? 

Dealer.  Very  true,  very  true — but  let  us  wave  this  point 
for  the  present.  It  affects  me  very  strangely. 

Conscience.  How  long,  then,  will  it  take  to  dry  up  this 
fountain  of  death ! 

Dealer.  Don’t  call  it  so,  I beseech  you ; but  I intend  to 
be  entirely  out  of  the  business  in  two  or  three  years,  at  ‘ 
farthest. 

Conscience.  Two  or  three  years  ! Can  you,  then,  after  all 
that  has  passed  between  us,  persist  two  or  three  years  lon- 
ger in  a contraband  traffic  ? I verily  thought,  that  when  we 
had  that  long  conference  two  or  three  months  ago,  jmu  re- 
solved to  close  the  concern  at  once;  and  that,  when  ive 
parted,  I had  as  good  as  your  promise,  that  you  would. 
Surely  you  cannot  so  soon  have  forgotten  it. 

Dealer.  No  ; I remember  that  interview  but  too  well — 
for  I was  never  so  unhappy  in  my  life.  I did  almost  resolve, 
and  more  than  half  promise,  as  you  say.  But  after  I had 
time  to  get  a little  composed,  I thought  you  had  pushed 
matters  rather  too  far ; and  that  I could  convince  you  of  it. 


12 


DEBATES  OF  CONSCIENCE. 


[132 


at  a proper  time.  I see,  however,  that  the  attempt  would  be 
fruitless.  But,  as  I am  anxious  for  a compromise,  let  me  ask 
whether,  if  I give  away  all  the  profits  of  this  branch  of  my 
business  to  the  Bible  Society,  and  other  religious  institu- 
tions, till  I can  close  it  up,  you  will  rot  be  satisfied  1 

Conscience.  Let  me  see.  Five  hundred  dollars,  or  one 
hundred  dollars,  earned  to  promote  the  cause  of  religion  by 
selling  poison  ! By  killing  husbands,  and  fathers,  and  bro- 
thers, and  torturing  poor  women  and  children  ! It  smells  of 
blood — and  can  God  possibly  accept  of  such  an  offering? 

Dealer.  So  then,  it  seems,  I must  stop  the  sale  at  once,  or 
entirely  forfeit  what  little  charity  ymu  have  left. 

Conscience.  You  must.  Delay  is  death — death  to  the 
consumer  at  least ; and  how  can  you  ffatter  yourself  that  it 
will  not  prove  your  own  eternal  death  ? My  convictions  are 
decisive,  and  be  assured,  I deal  thus  plainly  because  I love 
you,  and  cannot  bear  to  become  your  everlasting  tormentor. 

DIALOGUE  III. 

At  the  Retailers  stand. 

Conscience.  Do  you  know  that  little  half-starved,  bare- 
footed child,  that  you  just  sent  home  with  two  quarts  of 
rank  poison  1 

[Retailer  hums  a tune  to  himself,  end  affects  not  to  hear 
the  question.) 

Conscieni  r.  I see  by  the  paper  of  this  morning,  that  the 
furniture  of  Mr.  M.  is  to  be  sold  under  the  hammer  to-mor- 
row. Have  I not  often  seen  him  in  your  tap-room? 

Retailer.  I am  extremely  busy  just  now,  in  bringing  up 
our  ledger. 

Conscience.  Have  you  heard  how  N abused  his  fa- 

mily, and  turned  them  all  into  the  street  the  other  night, 
after  being  supplied  by  you  with  whiskey  ? 


133] 


DEBATES  OF  CONSCIENCE. 


13 


Retailer.  He  is  a brute,  and  ought  to  be  confined  in  a 
dungeon  six  months  at  least,  upon  bread  and  water. 

Co?isciencc.  Was  not  S , who  hung  himself  lately, 

one  of  your  steady  customers  ? and  where  do  you  think  his 
soul  is  now  fixed  for  eternity  ? You  sold  him  rum  that  even- 
ing, not  ten  minutes  before  you  went  to  the  prayer  meeting, 
and  had  his  money  in  your  pocket  (for  you  would  not  trust 
him)  when  you  led  in  the  exercises.  I heard  you  ask  him 
once,  why  he  did  not  attend  meeting,  and  send  his  children 
to  the  Sabbath-school ; and  I shall  never  ferget  his  answer, 
“Come,  you  talk  like  a minister:  but,  after  all,  we  are 
about  of  one  mind — at  least  in  some  things.  Let  me  have 
my  jug  and  be  going.” 

Retailer.  I know  he  was  an  impudent  hardened  wretch ; 
and  though  his  death  was  extremely  shocking,  I am  glad 
to  be  rid  of  him. 

Conscience.  Are  you  ready  to  meet  him  at  the  bar  of 
God,  and  to  say  to  the  Judge,  “He  was  my  neighbor — I 
saw  him  going  down  the  broad  way,  and  I did  every  thing 
that  a Christian  could  do  to  save  him  ?” 

Retailer.  {Aside.  O that  I could  stifle  the  upbraidings 
of  this  cruel  monitor.)  You  keep  me  in  constant  torment. 
This  everlasting  cant  about  rank  poison,  and  liquid  fire, 
and  blood,  and  murder,  is  too  much  for  even  a Christian  to 
put  up  with.  Why,  if  any  body^  but  Conscience  w'ere  to 
make  such  insinuations  and  charges,  he  would  be  indicta- 
ble as  a foul  slanderer,  before  a court  of  justice. 

Conscie?tce.  Is  it  slander,  or  is  it  because  I tell  you  the 
truth,  that  your  temper  is  so  deeply  ruffled  under  my  re- 
monstrances ? Suppose  I were  to  hold  my  peace,  while  your 
hands  are  becoming  more  and  more  deeply  crimsoned  with 
this  bloody  traffic.  What  would  you  say  to  me,  when  you 
come  to  meet  that  poor  boy,  who  just  went  out,  and  his  drunk- 
en father,  and  broken-hearted  mother,  at  the  bar  of  God  ? 


DEBATES  OF  CONSCIENCE. 


14 


[134 


Would  you  thank  your  ctnscience  for  having  let  you  alone 
while  there  was  space  left  for  repentance  ? 

Retdiler.  Ah,  had  honest  trader  ever  suck  a conscience 
to  deal  with  before?  Always  just  so  uncompromising — al- 
ways talking  about  the  “golden  rule” — always  insisting 
upon  a moral  standard  which  nobody  can  live  up  to — 
always  scenting  poverty,  murder,  and  suicide  in  every 
glass  of  whiskey,  though  it  were  a mile  oft".  The  truth  is, 
you  are  not  fit  to  live  in  this  world  at  all.  Acting  in  con- 
formity with  your  more  than  puritanical  rules,  would 
starve  any  man  and  his  family  to  death. 

Conscience..  Well,  here  comes  another  customer — see  the 
carbuncles  ! Will  you  fill  his  bottle  with  wrath,  to  be  poured 
out  without  mixture,  by  and  by,  upon  your  own  head  ? Do 
you  not  know  that  his  pious  wife  is  extremely  ill,  and  suf- 
fering for  want  of  every  comfort,  in  their  miserable  cabin  ? 

Retailer.  No,  Mr.  E.  go  home  and  take  care  of  your  fa- 
mily. I am  determined  to  harbor  no  more  drunkards  here. 

Conscience.  You  mean  to  make  a distinction  then,  do  you, 
between  harboring  those  who  are  already  ruined,  and  help- 
ing to  destroy  such  as  are  now  respectable  members  of  so- 
ciety. You  will  not  hereafter  tolerate  a single  drunkard  on 
your  premises — but — 

Retailer.  Ah,  1 see  what  you  are  aiming  at ; and  really, 
It  is  too  much  for  any  honest  man,  and  still  more  for  any 
Christian  to  bear.  You  know  it  is  a long  time  since  I have 
pretended  to  answer  half  your  captious  questions.  There’s 
no  use  in  it.  It  only  leads  on  to  others  still  more  impertinent 
and  puzzling.  If  I am  the  hundredth  part  of  that  factor  of 
Satan  which  you  would  make  me,  I ought  to  be  dealt  with, 
and  cast  out  of  the  church  at  once ; and  why  don’t  my  good 
brethren  see  to  it  ? 

Conscience.  That’s  a hard  question,  which  they,  perhaps, 
better  know  how  to  answer  than  I do. 

Retailer.  But  have  you  forgotten,  my  good  Conscience, 


135] 


DEBATES  OF  CONSCIENCE. 


15 


that  in  retailing  spirit,  I am  under  the  immediate  eye  and 
sanction  of  the  laws.  Mine  is  no  contraband  traffic,  as  you 
very  well  know.  I hold  a license  from  the  rulers  and 
fathers  of  the  state,  and  have  paid  my  money  for  it  into  the 
public  treasury.  Why  do  they  continue  to  grant  and  sell 
licenses,  if  it  is  wrong  for  me  to  sell  rum  ? 

Conscience.  Another  hard  question,  which  I leave  them 
to  answer  as  best  they  can.  It  is  said,  however,  that  public 
bodies  have  no  soul,  and  if  they  have  no  soul,  it  is  difficult 
to  see  how  they  can  have  any  conscience ; and  if  not,  what 
should  hinder  them  from  selling  licenses  ? But  suppose 
the  civil  authorities  should  offer  to  sell  you  a license  to 
keep  a gambling-house,  or  a brothel,  would  you  purchase 
such  a license,  and  present  it  as  a salvo  to  your  conscience  ? 

Retailer.  I tell  you  once  more,  there  is  no  use  in  trying 
to  answer  your  questions  ; for  say  what  I will,  you  have  the 
art  of  turning  every  thing  against  me.  It  was  not  always 
so,  as  you  must  very  distinctly  remember.  Formerly  I 
could  retail  hogshead  after  hogshead  of  all  kinds  of  spirits, 
and  you  slept  as  quietly  as  a child.  But  since  you  began 
to  read  these  Reports  and  Tracts  about  drinking,  and  to  at- 
tend Temperance  meetings,  I have  scarcely  had  an  hour’s 
peace  of  my  life.  I feared  that  something  like  this  would 
be  the  effect  upon  your  nervous  temperament,  when  you 
began ; and  you  may  recollect  that  I strongly  objected  to 
your  troubling  yourself  with  these  new  speculations.  It  now 
grieves  me  to  think  that  I ever  yielded  to  your  importu- 
nity ; and  beware  that  you  do  not  push  me  to  extremities  in 
this  matter,  for  I have  about  come  to  the  resolution  that  I 
will  have  no  more  of  these  mischievous  pamphlets,  either 
about  my  store  or  tavern ; and  that  your  Temperance 
Agents  may  declaim  to  the  winds  and  walls,  if  they  please. 

Conscience.  I am  amazed  at  your  blindness  and  ob- 
stinacy. It  is  now  from  three  to  five  years  since  I began  to 
speak  (though  in  a kind  of  indistinct  under-tone  at  first) 

11 


16 


DEBATES  OF  CONSCIENCE. 


[136 


against  this  bloody  traffic.  I have  reasoned,  I have  remon- 
strated, and  latterly  I have  threatened  and  implored  with 
increasing  earnestness.  At  times  you  have  listened,  and 
been  convinced  that  the  course  which  you  are  pursuing,  in 
this  day  of  light,  is  infamous,  and  utterly  inconsistent  with 
a Christian  profession.  But  before  your  convictions  and 
resolutions  have  time  to  ripen  into  action,  the  love  o1 
money  regains  its  ascendancy ; and  thus  have  you  gone  on 
resolving,  and  relapsing,  and  re-resolving : one  hour  at 
the  preparatory  lecture,  and  th3  next  unloading  whiskey  at 
your  door;  one  moment  mourning  over  the  prevalence 
of  intemperance,  and  the  next  arranging  your  decanters  to 
entice  the  simple — one  day  partaking  of  the  cup  of  the  Lord 
at  his  table,  and  the  next,  offering  the  cup  of  devils  to 
your  neighbors — one  day  singing, 

“ All  that  I have  and  all  I am, 

“ I consecrate  to  Thee 

and  the  next, /or  the  sake  of  a little  gain,  sacrificing  your 
character,  and  polluting  all  you  can  induce  to  drink ! O, 
how  can  I hold  my  peace?  How  can  I let  you  alone?  If 
you  will  persist,  your  blood,  and  the  blood  of  those  whom 
you  thus  entice  and  destroy,  be  upon  your  own  head. 
Whether  you  will  hear,  or  whether  you  will  forbear,  I shall 
not  cease  to  remonstrate ; and  when  I can  do  no  more  to 
reclaim  you,  I will  sit  down  at  your  gate,  in  the  bitterness 
of  despair,  and  cry.  Murder  ! Murder  ! ! MURDER  ! ! ! 

Retailer.  {Pale  and  trembling,)  “ Go  thy  way  for  this 
time ; when  I have  a convenient  season  I will  call  for  thee.” 

^ . ■—  ' — ■ — - . - ~ 

PUBLISHED  BY  THE 


AMERICAN  TRACT  SOCIETY, 

No.  150  Nassau-strect,  New-York. 


No.  301. 


NATIONAL  CIRCULAR, 


ADDRESSED  TO  THE 

Head  of  each  Family  in  the  United  States. 


Respected  Friend, 

We  are  engaged  in  a great  and  good  work  ; and,  to  ac- 
complish it,  we  need  your  aid.  It  is  the  work  of  extending 
the  principle  of  abstinence  from  the  use  of  ardent  spirit,  as 
a drink,  throughout  our  country,  and  throughout  the  world. 
By  means  of  the  press,  and  of  living  agents,  a strong  im- 
pression has  already  been  made,  and  a great  change  effect- 
ed with  regard  to  this  subject.  More  than  a million  of 
persons  in  the  United  States  have  ceased  to  use  ardent  spi- 
rit; more  than  a thousand  distilleries  have  been  stopped ; 
more  than  three  thousand  merchants  have  ceased  to  traffic 
in  the  article,  and  more  than  three  thousand  drunkards 
ceased  to  use  intoxicating  drinks.  More  than  ten  thousand 
persons,  as  appears  from  numerous  facts,  have  been  saved 
from  becoming  drunkards,  who,  had  it  not  been  for  the 
change  of  sentiment  and  practice  in  the  community,  had, 
before  now,  been  involved  in  all  the  horrors  of  that  loathsome 
and  fatal  vice.  The  quantity  of  ardent  spirit  used,  over  exten- 
sive districts  of  country,  has  been  greatly  diminished;  and 
pauperism,  crime,  sickness,  insanity,  and  premature  deaths, 
have  been  diminished  in  proportion.  Sobriety,  industry,  and 
economy  have  been  greatly  revived ; and  it  is  estimated  by 
those  who  are  acquainted  with  the  subject,  and  have  the  best 
means  of  judging,  that  in  the  state  of  New- York  alone  there 
have  been  saved  the  last  year,  by  the  change  with  regard  to 
the  use  of  ardent  spirit,  more  than  $2,000,000.  The  chief 
means  of  effecting  this  change  has  been  the  formation, 
throughout  the  state,  of  Temperance  Societies.  Should  such 
Societies  be  formed  throughout  our  country,  all  persons 
join  them,  and  the  use  of  ardent  spirit  be  done  away,  it 
would  save  annually  more  than  $100,000,000,  and  more 
than  30,000  valuable  lives,  ft  ;”ould  remove  one  of  the 


2 


NATIONAL  CIRCULAR. 


[138 


greatest  obstructions  to  all  means  for  human  improvement ; 
one  of  the  principal  dangers  to  our  social,  civil,  and  reli- 
gious institutions ; and  one  of  the  chief  causes,  throughout 
our  land,  of  human  wretchedness  and  wo. 

And  what  we  ask  of  you,  and  of  each  member  of  your 
family,  is,  that  you  will  not  only  abstain  from  the  use  of 
ardent  spirit,  but,  for  the  sake  of  doing  good  to  others,  unite 
with  a Temperance  Society ; and  for  this  purpose,  that  you 
will  give  your  names,  and  the  influence  which  is  attached 
to  them,  to  the  pledge  which  is  annexed  to  this  paper.  And 
we  do  this  for  the  following  reasons,  viz. 

1.  Ardent  spirit,  as  a drink,  is  not  needful. 

All  the  world  lived  without  it,  and  all  the  business  of  the 
world  was  conducted  without  it,  for  more  than  five  thou- 
sand years.  It  was  not  used,  as  a drink,  in  Great  Britain, 
till  within  less  than  three  hundred  years;  nor  was  it  com- 
mon in  this  country  till  within  less  than  one  hundred 
years.  Of  course,  it  is  not  needful. 

2.  It  is  not  useful.  The  men  that  never  use  it  suffer  no 
evil  for  want  of  it.  There  is  no  natural  appetite  for  it ; but 
the  appetite  is  created  solely  by  the  use  of  it.  More  than  a 
million  persons  in  the  United  States,  and  many  who  once 
used  it  daily,  and  thought  it  to  be  needful,  have  found,  by 
experience,  that  they  are  in  all  respects  better  without  it. 
And  the  number  is  so  great,  in  all  varieties  of  condition,  as 
to  make  it  certain,  should  the  experiment  be  fairly  made,  that 
this  would  be  the  case  with  all.  Of  course,  it  is  not  useful. 

3.  Alcohol,  which  forms  the  basis  of  ardent  spirit,  is  a 
j)oison.  When  taken  unmixed,  in  no  very  large  quantity,  it 
destroys  life;  and  when  taken  even  moderately,  it  induces 
disease,  and  forms  an  artificial,  an  unnatural,  and  a very 
dangerous  appetite.  This  appetite,  like  the  desire  for  sin- 
ning in  the  man  who  sins,  by  gratification,  tends  continu- 
ally to  increase ; and  requires  continually  increasing  quan- 
tities to  satisfy  it.  Hence  the  reason  why,  although  it  is 
not  three  hundred  years  since  the  use  of  it  began  in  Great 
Britain,  the  quantity  used  has  continued  to  increase  till  the 
inhabitants  of  that  country  have  used  more  than  40,000,000 
gallons,  and  the  inhabitants  of  this  country  more  than 
60,000,000  gallons  in  a year.  And  yet  there  was  no  ten- 
dency to  be  satisfied,  even  with  five  gallons  annually,  upon 
an  average,  to  every  man,  woman,  and  child  in  the  country ; 


139] 


NATIONAL  CIRCULAR. 


3 


but  the  tendency  was  growing  stronger  and  stronger,  and 
with  greater  and  still  greater  number  continually  to  in- 
crease. And  this  is  owing  to  the  nature  of  the  poison,  and 
to  the  nature  of  the  vicious  appetite  which  it  forms.  Unlike 
the  appetites  which  God  gave  for  water,  for  bread,  and  for 
nourishing  food  and  drinks,  appetites  which  may  be  grati- 
fied daily,  and  yet  will  not  increase  in  their  demands,  this 
cries  continually,  “ Give,  give.”  Hence  the  reason  why  the 
sober  youth  and  intelligent  man,  who  had  incautiously 
fonned  this  appetite,  were  led  on  by  it,  step  by  step,  to  the 
drunkard’s  grave.  And  no  man  can  form  it,  without  being 
in  danger  himself  of  dying  a drunkard.  Not  that  every 
man  that  forms  it  will  die  a drunkard.  Some  may  with- 
stand it ; but  the  appetite  which  a father  may  withstand, 
may  kill  his  children,  and  children’s  children,  to  the  third 
and  fourth  generation.  “ You  will  make  a great  impres- 
sion on  our  people  now,”  said  a man  when  an  address  was 
about  to  be  delivered  to  an  assembly  on  this  subject,  “ for 
we  have  just  buried  a man  who  killed  himself  by  drinking. 
He  was  the  son  of  a mechanic,  who  had  two  sons,  and  took 
them  both  into  his  own  business  when  they  were  about 
fourteen  years  old.  He  drank  spirit  two  or  three  times 
a-day;  his  sons  did  the  same;  and,  before  they  were  nine- 
teen they  were  both  drunkards.  The  oldest  lingered  along 
till  he  was  twenty-three,  and  died.  The  youngest  cannot 
live  to  be  twenty-three.  He  is  going  rapidly  the  same  way. 
The  father  stands  it,  but  the  sorts  are  ruined.''^  That  short 
sentence  describes  the  condition  of  ten  thousand  families 
in  the  United  States.  The  father  stands  it.  He,  perhaps, 
did  not  begin  to  use  ardent  spirit  so  early,  till  his  system 
was  consolidated,  and  could,  to  a greater  extent,  and  for  a 
longer  time,  throw  off  the  poison.  Perhaps  it  was  not  the 
fashion  to  use  it  when  he  was  young.  But  his  sons,  who 
began  to  use  it  before  they  were  grown,  are  ruined.  What, 
then,  is  to  be  the  case  with  the  next  generation,  and  with 
the  next,  if  this  process  of  ruining  our  children  is  to 
continue? 

Says  an  eminent  physician,  Reuben  D.  Mussey,  president 
of  the  New-Hampshire  Medical  Society,  and  professor  of 
anatomy  and  surgery  in  Dartmouth  College — “ What  is 
the  secret  of  this  witchery  which  strong  drink  exerts  over 
the  whole  man  ? I will  try  to  tell  you.  After  being  received 


4 


NATIONAL  CIRCULAR. 


[140 


into  the  stomach,  it  is  sucked  up  by  the  absorbent  vessels, 
is  carried  into  the  blood,  and  circulates  through  the  alimen- 
tary organs,  through  the  lungs,  muscles,  and  brain ; and 
doubtless  through  every  organ  of  the  body.  Not  a blood- 
vessel, however  minute,  not  a thread  of  nerve  in  the  whole 
animal  machine,  escapes  its  influence.  And  what  is  the  na- 
ture of  that  influence?  It  disturbs  the  functions  of  life.” 
“ On  every  organ  they  touch,”  says  another  eminent  phy- 
sician, Ebenezer  Alden,  M.  D.  of  Massachusetts,  “ardent 
spirits  operate  as  a ‘poison.  No  where  in  the  human  body 
are  they  allowed  even  a lodgment,  until  the  vital  powers 
are  so  far  prostrated  that  they  cannot  be  removed.  They 
are  hurried  on  from  one  organ  to  another,  marking  their 
course  with  irregularity  of  action  and  disturbance  of  func- 
tion ; until  at  last,  as  a common  enemy,  they  are  taken  up 
the  emunctories,  the  scavengers  of  the  system,  and  uncere- 
moniously excluded.  When,  through  decay  of  organic  vigor, 
this  process  ceases,  the  work  of  destruction  is  drawing  to 
a close,  and  the  last  glimmerings  of  life  are  soon  extin- 
guished. To  a man  in  health  there  is  no  such  thing  as  a 
temperate  use  of  spirits.  In  any  quantity  they  are  an  enemy 
to  the  human  constitution.  Their  influence  upon  the  physical 
organs  is  unfavorable  to  health  and  life.  They  produce  weak- 
ness, not  strength;  sickness,  not  health;  death,  and  not  life.” 

And  says  the  physician  before  referred  to,  “ Does  a healthy 
laboring  man  need  alcohol  ? No  more  than  he  needs  arsenic, 
corrosive  sublimate,  or  opium.  The  experiment  has  been 
made  a thousand  times ; and  the  result  is  well  known, 
namely,  that  more  labor  can  be  accomplished  in  a month, 
or  a year,  under  the  influence  of  simple  nourishing  food 
and  unstimulating  drinks,  than  through  the  aid  of  alcohol.” 

Sir  Astley  Cooper,  of  England,  states  that  spirits  and 
poisons  are  synonymous  terms.  And  Dr.  Daniel  Drake,  of 
Ohio,  speaks  of  them  as  a deadly  poison,  and  mentions  a 
number  of  cases  in  which  the  use  of  them  had  proved  mor- 
tal. In  view  of  which  he  says,  “ Ardent  spirits  are  a great 
quickener  and  disturber  of  the  animal  system ; a warm  and 
irritating  poison ; in  moderate  doses  imparting  an  unnatural 
e.xcitement ; in  excessive  draughts  suddenly  extinguishing 
life;  thus  resembling,  in  their  effects,  a number  of  deleteri- 
ous vegetable  substances,  such  as  stramonium,  hemlock,  the 
prussic  acid,  and  opium,  which  we  label  as  poisons.” 


141] 


NATIONAL  CIRCULAR. 


5 


And  Dr.  Samuel  Emlin,  late  Secretary  of  the  College  of 
Physicians  and  Surgeons  of  Philadelphia,  remarks,  “ We 
should  not  admit  of  the  popular  reasoning  as  applicable 
here,  that  the  abuse  of  a thing  is  no  argument  against  its 
use.  All  use  of  ardent  spirits  (i.  e.  as  a drink)  is  an  abuse. 
They  are  mischievous  under  all  circumstances.”  Dr. 
Cheyne,  of  London,  states  that  they  are  most  like  opium 
in  their  nature,  and  most  like  arsenic  in  their  deleterious 
effects.  And  Dr.  Frank  declares  that  their  tendency,  even 
when  used  moderately,  is  to  induce  disease,  premature  old 
age,  and  death ; and  Dr.  Trotter,  that  of  all  the  evils  of 
human  life,  no  cause  of  disease  has  so  wide  a range,  or  so 
large  a share  as  the  use  of  spirituous  liquors ; and,  that 
more  than  half  of  all  the  sudden  deaths  are  occasioned  by 
them.  Dr.  Harris  states,  that  the  moderate  use  of  spirituous 
liquors  has  destroyed  many  who  were  never  drunk ; and 
Dr.  Kirk  gives  it  as  his  opinion,  that  such  men  as  were 
never  considered  intemperate,  by  daily,  regular  drinking, 
have  often  shortened  life  more  than  twenty  years ; and  that 
the  respectable  use  of  this  poison  kills  more  men  than  even 
drunkenness  itself.  Dr.  Wilson  gives  it  as  his  opinion,  that 
the  use  of  spirit  in  large  cities  causes  more  diseases  than 
confined  air,  unwholesome  exhalations,  and  the  combined 
inflUendb  of  dll  other  evils. 

And' says  that  celebrated  physician,  Dr.  Cheyne,  of  Dub- 
lin, Ireland,  after  thirty  years’  extensive  practice  and  ob- 
servation, “ Let  ten  young  men  begin  at  twerity-dne  years 
of  age  to  use  but  one  glass  of  two  ounces  a day,  and  never 
increase  the  quantity,  nine  out  of  ten  of  those  young  men 
will  shorten  life  more  than  ten  years.”  Medical  writers 
throughout  the  world  testify  that  ardent  spirit  is  a poison, 
which  cannot  be  used  without  injury ; which  causes  disease; 
and  which  shortens  human  life.  ‘And  these  testimonies  of 
physicians  are  abundantly  confirmed  by  facts.  Let  any  one 
cast  his  thoughts  around  him,  and  reckon  up  the  number 
of  his  acquaintance  that  have  been  killed  by  it  within  the 
last  twenty  years.  In  Portsmouth,  New-Hampshire,  21  per- 
sons were  killed  by  it  in  a year.  In  Salem,  Massachusetts, 
of  181  deaths,  20  were  occasioned  by  the  use  of  strong  drink. 
Of  94  adult  deaths  in  New-Haven,  Connecticut,  more  than 
30,  according  to  the  opinion  of  the  Medical  Association, 
were  occasioned  by  intemperance.  In  New-Brunswick, 
Vol.  10.  G 


6 


NATIONAL  CIRCULAR, 


[142 


New-Jersey,  of  67  adult  deaths,  more  than  one-third  ivere 
occasioned  in  the  same  way.  And  of  4,292  deaths  in  Phi- 
ladelphia, 700  at  least,  more  than  one  in  seven,  are  stated 
by  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  as  having,  in 
their  opinion,  been  occasioned  by  intoxicating  liquor.  Ar- 
dent spirit,  then,  is  a poison,  destructive  to  human  health 
and  life. 

Says  an  eminent  physician  in  Massachusetts,  “ Since  our 
people  generally  have  given  up  the  use  of  it,  they  have  not 
had  more  than  half  as  much  sickness  as  they  had  before; 
and  I have  no  doubt,  should  all  the  peojde  of  the  United 
States  cease  to  use  it,  that  nearly  half  the  sickness  of  the 
country  would  cease.”  And  said  an  aged  physician  in  the 
same  state,  after  forty  years’  extensive  practice,  “ Half  the 
men  every  year,  who  die  of  fevers,  might  recover,  had  they 
not  been  in  the  habit  of  using  ardent  spirit.  Many  a man, 
down  for  weeks  with  a fever,  had  he  not  used  ardent  spirit, 
would  not  have  been  confined  to  his  house  a day.  He  might 
have  felt  a slight  headache,  but  a little  fasting  would  have 
removed  the  difficulty,  and  the  man  been  well.  And  many 
a man  who  was  never  intoxicated,  when  visited  with  a 
fever,  might  he  raised  up  as  well  as  not,  were  it  not  for  that 
state  of  the  system  which  daily  moderate  drinking  occasions, 
who  now,  in  spite  of  all  that  can  he  done,  sinks  down  and 
dies.”  No  man  but  a physician  knows  how  powerfully 
fevers  are  increased,  and  how  fatally  the  best  remedies  are 
counteracted,  even  by  the  daily  moderate  use  of  spirits.  An 
aged  physician  in  Maryland  states,  that  when  the  fever 
breaks  out  there,  the  men  that  do  not  use  ardent  spirit  are 
not  half  so  likely  as  others  to  have  it;  and  when  they  do 
have  it,  that  they  are  ten  times  as  likely  to  recover.  In  the 
island  of  Key  West,  on  the  coast  of  Florida,  it  was  at  one 
time  remarkably  sickly,  and  many  died  offerer.  But  it  was 
found  that  those  who  died  were,  in  every  case,  addicted  to 
the  habitual  use  of  ardent  spirit.  The  quantity  used  was 
afterward  diminished  more  than  nine-tenths,  and  the  inhab- 
itants were  remarkably  healthy.  A gentleman  of  great  re- 
spectability, from  the  South,  states,  that  those  who  fall  vic- 
tims in  southern  climes  are  almost  invariably  those  who  in- 
dulge in  the  free  use  of  ardent  spirit.  Dr.  Moseley,  after 
long  residence  in  the  West  Indies,  declares,  “ That  persons 
who  drink  nothing  but  cold  water,  or  make  it  their  princi- 


143] 


NATIONAL  CIRCULAR. 


r 


pal  drink,  are  but  little  affected  by  tropical  climates ; that 
they  undergo  the  greatest  fatigue  without  inconvenience, 
and  are  not  so  subject  as  others  to  dangerous  diseases.” 
And  Dr.  Bell,  “ That  rum,  when  used  even  moderately, 
always  diminishes  the  strength,  and  renders  men  more  sus- 
ceptible of  disease ; and  that  we  might  as  well  throw  oil  into 
a house,  the  roof  of  which  was  on  fire,  in  order  to  prevent 
the  flames  from  extending  to  the  inside,  as  to  pour  ardent 
spirits  into  the  stomach  to  lessen  the  effect  of  a hot  sun  upon 
the  skin.”  Of  77  persons  found  dead  in  the  different  regions 
of  country,  67,  according  to  the  coroners’  inquests,  were 
occasioned  by  strong  drink.  Nine-tenths  of  those  who  die 
suddenly  after  the  drinking  of  cold  water,  are  those  who 
have  been  addicted  to  the  free  use  of  ardent  spirit.  That 
draught  of  cold  water,  or  that  exposure  to  the  sun,  which  a 
man  who  uses  no  ardent  spirit  will  bear  without  inconve- 
nience and  without  danger,  will  often  kill  the  man  who 
uses  it.  And  in  many  places  more  ihan  four-fifths  of  those 
loho  died  of  Cholera,  were  persons  who  had  been  addicted 
to  the  free  use  of  strong  drink.  So  that,  whether  we  look  at 
the  nature  of  ardent  spirit,  or  its  effects,  at  the  testimony  of 
physicians,  or  at  facts,  we  are  shown  that  it  is  a poison,  de- 
structive of  human  health  and  life ; and  the  men  who  use 
it  as  a drink,  take  a course  which  tends  to  shorten  life  from 
ten  to  fifty  years.  And  no  man  can  take  it  without  running 
the  awful  hazard  of  coming,  by  his  own  agency,  to  a pre- 
mature grave.  And  from  bills  of  mortality  kept  extensively, 
and  examined  by  physicians  of  the  first  eminence,  it  is  esti- 
mated that  this  has  actually  been  the  case  in  the  United 
States  with  more  than  30,000  in  a year.  And  who  cannot 
recollect  among  them  numbers  of  his  own  acquaintance, 
and  perhaps  of  his  relatives  or  intimate  friends  ? 

4.  The  use  of  ardent  spirit  impairs,  and  in  many  cases 
destroys  reason.  Of  781  maniacs  in  different  insane  hospi- 
tals, 392,  according  to  the  testimony  of  their  own  friends, 
were  rendered  maniacs  by  strong  drink ; and  the  physicians 
gave  it  as  their  opinion,  that  this  was  also  the  case  with 
many  others. 

A distinguished  medical  gentleman,  who  has  had  great 
experience  in  this  malady,  states,  that  more  than  half,  pro- 
bably three-fourths  of  all  cases  of  insanity  which  have  come 
under  his  notice,  -were  occasioned  by  excessive  drinking. 

11* 


8 


NATIONAL  CIRCULAR. 


[144 


" The  love  of  strong  drink,  and  the  proneness  to  mania,” 
says  Dr.  Peirson,  “ are,  with  regard  to  each  other,  inter- 
changeable causes.”  And  why  should  this  not  be  the  case? 
“ Ardent  spirit,”  says  Dr.  Kirk,  “ contains  a narcotic  stimu- 
lant, possessing  similar  properties  with  opium,  Avhich  you 
knoAV  to  be  a poison;  with  this  addition,  that  it  is  more  im- 
mediately irritating  to  the  tissues  of  the  body.  It  is  absorbed 
into  the  blood,  circulates  through  the  lungs,  and  is  exhaled 
through  the  numerous  vessels  containing  the  circulating 
blood  of  these  organs : and  not  only  so,  but  the  vessels  of 
the  brain  are  loaded  with  it.  I dissected  a man  who  died  in 
a state  of  intoxication.  The  operation  was  performed  a few 
hours  after  death.  In  the  two  cavities  of  the  brain,  the  late- 
ral ventricles  AA^as  found  the  usual  quantity  of  limpid  fluid. 
When  Ave  smelled  it,  the.  odor  of  the  Avhiskey  aa'US  distinct- 
ly visible;  and  when  Ave  applied  the  candle  to  a portion  of 
it  in  a spoon,  it  actually  burned  blue — ^the  lambent  blue 
flame,  characteristic  of  the  poison,  playing  on  the  surfece 
of  the  spoon  for  some  seconds.”  Other  physicians,  AA'ho 
have  had  similar  opportunities  for  observation,  have  given 
similar  testimonies  on  the  subject.  ‘ And  is  it  strange  that 
men  lose  their  reason,  Avith  a poison  in  the  brain  ? It  AA'ould 
be  strange  if  they  did  not.  And  this  is  the  cause  why  men, 
Avho  take  this  poison,  have  so  much  less  reason  than  the 
men  who  do  not ; and  Avhy  the  same  men  have  so  much 
less  reason  after  they  have  taken  it  than  they  had  before. 
They  have  a poison  in  their  brain  Avhich  tends  to  make 
them  madmen.  Hence  the  reason  Avhy  the  man  who,  be- 
fore he  began  to  use  it,  Avas  a kind  father,  an  affectionate 
husband,  has  afterward  been  found  murdering  his  Avife,  and, 
upon  the  fire  of  his  oAvn  hearth,  burning  to  death  his  chil- 
dren. Nor  is  the  effect  in  such  cases  confined  to  those  Avho 
use  it ; it  descends  to  their  children  and  children’s  children  ; 
producing  a predisposition  to  insanity  and  A arious  diseases, 
which,  if  the  cause  is  continued,  will  become  hereditary,  and 
be  manifested  in  a diminution  of  size  and  stature ; a decrease 
of  bodily  and  mental  strength  and  activity ; a feebleness  of 
vision  and  a trembling  of  limbs ; an  indecision  and  a fickle- 
ness of  purpose ; a general  deterioration  of  character,  and  a 
premature  old  age ; Avhich  will  visit  the  iniquities  of  the  fa- 
thers upon  the  children,  from  generation  to  generation.  Nor 
does  the  effect  stop  here,  but. 


145] 


NATIONAL  CIRCULAR. 


9 


5.  It  weakens  the  power  of  motives  to  do  right,  and  is 
thus  shown  decisively  to  be  in  its  tendency  immoral;  and 
that  no  man  can,  consistently  with  his  duty,  either  use  it,  or 
be  accessary  to  the  use  of  it  by  others. 

Next  to  true  religion,  diligence  in  useful  business  is  the 
grand  safeguard  of  man.  And  so  needful  is  this,  that  it  is 
difficult  to  raise  even  a family  of  children,  and  not  have 
them  ruined,  unless  they  are  habituated  to  diligence  in  bu- 
siness. Hence  God,  in  his  providence  and  his  word,  pre- 
sents a great  v'ariety  of  motives  to  make  men  diligent;  and 
motives  in  sufficient  number  and  strength,  in  such  a country 
as  this,  to  secure  the  object,  provided  men  do  not  use  ardent 
spirit.  But  if  they  do,  all  these  motives  with  thousands  and 
thousands  will  utterly  fail ; and  they  will  be  idle ; they  will 
be  paupers,  and  they  will  be  vagabonds  and  nuisances  after 
all.  Of  334  paupers  in  Washington  county.  New- York, 
290  were  made  such  by  ardent  spirit.  Of  253  in  the  county 
of  Oneida,  246  were  made  paupers  in  the  same  way.  Of  50 
in  Cumberland  county,  Pennsylvania,  48  were  made  pau- 
pers by  intemperance;  and  of  1,134  in  Baltimore  county, 
Maryland,  1,059  were  made  paupers  in  the  same  way.  And 
of  1,969  pRupers  in  different  almshouses  of  our  country, 
1,790,  according  to  the  testimony  of  the  overseers  of  the 
poor,  were  made  paupers  by  spiritous  liquor.  Who  can 
doubt  but  that  it  weakens  the  power  of  motives  to  do  right, 
even  with  regard  to  the  plainest  duties,  diligence  in  busi- 
ness, and  the  duty  of  providing  for  one’s  own  family  ? Who 
can  doubt  but  that  a great  proportion  of  those  paupers,  had 
they  not  used  ardent  spirit,  would  have  been  diligent,  use- 
ful members  of  society,  and  have  provided  well  for  them- 
selves and  their  families  ? It  so  weakens  the  power  of  mo- 
tives to  do  right,  that  multitudes  who,  had  it  not  been  for 
this,  might  have  been  comfortable  and  useful,  are  now  a tor- 
ment to  themselves  and  nuisances  to  mankind. 

6.  It  strengthens  the  power  of  motives  to  do  wrong.  Temp- 
tation to  crime,  which  men  will  withstand  when  they  have 
not  been  drinking,  will  lead  them  when  they  have,  in  nu- 
merous cases,  to  go  and  commit  it.  Of  thirty-nine  prisoners 
in  the  jail  of  Litchfield  county,  Connecticut,  thirty-five  were 
intemperate  men.  In  the  jail  at  Ogdensburg,  New-York, 
seven-eighths  of  the  criminals  were  addicted  to  strong  drink. 
Of  647  in  the  state  prison  at  Auburn,  New- York,  467  were 


10 


NATIONAL  CIRCULAR. 


[140 


intemperate ; and  346  ivere  under  the  influence  of  ardent 
spirit  at  the  time  the  crimes  for  which  they  were  impri- 
soned were  committed.  And  of  120  in  the  state-prison  of 
Connecticut,  more  than  ninety  were  of  the  same  class.  And 
a similar  proportion  may  be  found  in  other  prisons.  So  ob- 
vious is  it  that  it  weakens  the  power  of  motives  to  do  right, 
and  strengthens  the  power  of  motives  to  do  wrong.  Of  690 
children  imprisoned  for  crime  in  the  city  of  New-York, 
more  than  400  were  from  intemperate  families.  Suppose 
one  family  in  ten  were  intemperate,  more  than  four-sevenths 
of  the  youthful  criminals  were  from  those  one  in  ten,  while 
not  three-sevenths  were  from  all  the  other  nine  in  ten,  mak- 
ing the  children  of  intemperate  parents  more  than  ten  times 
as  liable  to  crime,  to  the  prison,  and  to  the  gallows,  as  the 
children  of  temperate  parents.  And  certain  men,  when  they 
wish  to  have  a robberj'  committed,  or  a murder,  and  do  not 
wish  to  commit  it  themselves,  lest  they  should  be  hanged, 
are  accustomed  to  invite  persons  who  love  ardent  spirit  to 
drink  with  them,  and,  in  their  great  generosit3%  to  furnish 
it  gratis,  till  they  arc  prepared  to  hear  about  some  splendid 
project  to  make  a great  fortune  in  a night.  Perhaps,  at  first, 
they  start  back;  it  is  too  hazardous.  But  give  them  a little 
more,  and  a little  more,  and  they  will  go  and  commit  the 
crime.  Not  a year  passes  in  which  murders  are  not  com- 
mitted through  the  influence  of  ardent  spirit. 

The  Hon.  J.  B.  O’Neal,  of  South-Carolina,  testifies  that 
homicide  in  that  state  is  almost  always  attributable  to  ardent 
spirit ; and  that  out  of  eleven  cases  of  murder,  in  which  be 
■was  called  to  defend  the  prisoner,  all  but  one  were  occa- 
sioned by  it;  and  that  nine  out  of  ten  of  all  the  cases  of  as- 
saults and  batteries,  affrays  and  riots,  are  from  the  same 
cause.  Col.  Thomas  Williams,  of  the  same  state,  declares, 
that  of  eleven  murders  tried  at  the  courts  at  which  he  prac- 
tised, in  every  case,  the  slayer  or  the  slain  was  intemperate, 
or  intoxicated  when  the  crime  was  committed : and  in  most 
instances  both  were  so.  And  he  says,  “ With  regard  to 
other  offences  of  personal  violence,  assaults  with  intent  to 
commit  murder,  and  common  assaults,  I have,  in  the  course 
of  my  practice,  been  engaged  in  many,  and  witnessed  trials 
innumerable,  and  I cannot  recollect  a single  case  in  which 
some  of  the  parties  were  not  more  or  less  intoxicated.  I have 
witnessed  trials,  in  cases  of  larceny,  innumerable,  and  I can 


147] 


NATIONAL  CIRCULAR. 


11 


recollect  but  one  case  in  which  the  prisoners  were  not  either 
in  the  habit  of  excessive  drinking,  or  were  not  drunk  when 
the  offence  was  committed.”  And  Hugh  Maxwell,  Esq.  of 
New- York,  states,  that  of  twenty-two  cases  of  murder  which 
it  had  been  his  duty  to  examine,  all  had  been  committed  in 
consequence  of  intemperance.  And  of  more  than  two  hun- 
dred murders  committed  in  the  United  States  in  a year,  you 
can  find  scarcely  any  not  connected  with  drinking,  or  not 
committed  by  men  who  freely  use  ardent  spirit.  And  if  he, 
who  Avas  a murderer  from  the  beginning,  were  to  furnish  a 
drink  adapted  in  its  nature,  and  efficacious  in  itd  effects,  to 
make  others  like  himself,  and  induce  them  to  work  for  him, 
he  would  have  only  to  present  them  with  ardent  spirit ; and 
as  soon  as  they  are  brought  under  its  power,  they  are  fitted 
for  his  service.  They  inhale  the  very  air  in  which  pollu- 
tion and  crime,  rvretchedness  and  death,  live,  and  move,  and 
have  their  being. 

And  did  it  destroy  merely  property,  health,  reason  and 
life,  we  could  bear  it.  Though  it  should  destroy  more  than 
$ 100,000,000  a year,  and  bring  down  more  than  30,00') 
persons  annually  to  an  untimely  grave ; though  it  should 
continue  to  make  wives  widows,  and  children  orphans,  and 
scatter  on  every  side  firebrands,  arrows,  and  dea^h ; yt,  if  it 
illuminated  and  purified  the  soul,  and  prepared  that  undy- 
ing part  of  man  for  glory  and  honor,  immortalit)?-  and  eter- 
nal life,  Ave  could  endure  it ; and  for  the  continuance  of  its 
inexpressible  and  overAvhelming  evils  there  might  be  a 
reason.  But, 

7.  It  destroys  the  soul.  It  makes  sinners  more  sinful,  and 
prevents  them  from  experiencing  God’s  illuminating  and 
purifying  power.  It  tends  directly  and  strongly  to  make 
men  feel,  as  Jesus  Christ  hates — rich  spiritually,  increased 
in  goods,  and  in  need  of  nothing;  and  for  ever  to  prevent 
them  from  feeling  as  men  must  feel,  in  order  to  be  interested 
in  the  blessings  of  his  salvation.  The  Holy  Spirit  Avill  not 
visit,  much  less  dwell  with  him  who  is  under  the  polluting, 
debasing  effects  of  intoxicating  drink.  That  state  of  mind 
and  heart  which  this  occasions,  is  to  him  a loathing  and 
an  utter  abomination.  Not  only  does  it  darken  the  under- 
standing, sear  the  conscience,  pollute  the  affections,  and  de- 
base all  the  powers  of  the  soul;  but  it  counteracts  the  mer- 
ciful designs  of  Jehovah,  and  all  that  overflowing  kindness 


12 


national  circular. 


1148 


of  an  infinitely  compassionate  Savior  for  its  deliverance', 
binds  the  soul  in  hopeless  bondage  to  its  destroyers ; awak- 
ens the  “ worm  which  dieth  not,”  and  “ the  fire  which  is  not 
quenched,”  and  drives  the  soul  away  in  despair,  weeping 
and  wailing,  to  be  punished  with  everlasting  destruction 
from  the  presence  of  the  Lord  and  the  glory  of  his  power. 

And  it  is  for  these  reasons  that  we  most  respectfully  and 
most  earnestly  request,  not  only  that  you  will  abstain  from 
it,  but  that  you  will  also  unite  the  influence  of  your  example 
with  that  of  others,  to  lead  all  to  do  the  same.  Should  the 
use  of  ardent  spirit  be  continued  for  thirty  years  to  come,  as 
it  has  been  for  thirty  years  past,  it  will  cost  the  people  of 
the  United  States  more  than  §3,000,000,000,  and  it  will 
bring  down  more  than  a million  of  people  to  the  drunkard’s 
grave.  It  will  raise  up  more  than  a million  more,  and  make 
them  drunkards,  to  roll  the  burning  curse  on  to  the  next  gene- 
ration, raising  up  other  millions  to  roll  it  onward,  and  others 
still  to  roll  it  onward,  blazing  with  a fire  that  no  man  can 
quench.  It  will  cause,  in  one  generation,  more  than  5,000 
murders,  and  increase  more  than  1,500,000  the  commission 
of  crimes.  And  should  the  present  number  of  drunkards  not 
increase,  and  their  lives,  upon  an  average,  be  shortened  only 
ten  years,  and  that  of  moderate  drinkers  only  five,  and  if 
there  are  only  four  moderate  drinkers  to  one  drunkard,  it 
would  cut  off  32,400,000  years  of  human  probation ; in  that 
period  of  existence,  too,  when  every  noble  deed  might  mo- 
del the  character  and  tell  on  the  destinies  of  endless  being. 

And  yet  these  evils,  great  as  they  are,  rising  up  to  hea- 
ven, and  overwhelming,  as,  if  continued,  they  certainl}'  will 
be,  may,  nevertheless,  with  perfect  ease,  all  be  done  away. 
Let  each  individual  cease  to  use  intoxicating  drinks,  intem- 
perance and  all  its  abominations  will  vanish ; and  tempe- 
rance, with  all  its  blessings  of  body  and  soul,  will  univer- 
sally prevail.  And  if  only  all  sober  persons  will  adopt  and 
continue  this  course,  drunkards,  who  will  not  reform,  will 
all  soon  die ; no  new  drunkards  will  be  made,  and  the  whole 
land  will  be  free.  Our  3,000,000  children  may  come  for- 
ward into  life,  without  the  habit  of  using  intoxicating  liquors, 
without  any  appetite  for  it,  or  any  expectation  of  benefit  from 
the  use  of  it.  And  such  a generation  they  may  be  as  this 
world  never  saw;  to  show,  by  their  blessings,  the  glory  of 
free  institutions,  and  the  brighter  glories  of  the  Gospel  of  the 


149] 


NATIONAL  CIRCULAR. 


13 

Son  of  God,  and  to  spread  a light  which  shall  cause  igno- 
rance and  vice,  desolation  and  Avretchedness,  over  the  whole 
earth,  for  ever  to  flee  away. 

We,  therefore,  cannot  but  confidently  anticipate  that  you 
and  your  family  will  cheerfully,  for  the  sake  of  doing  good, 
add  to  the  pledge  which  is  annexed,  the  influence  of  your 
names.  But  some  may  say,  Wh)'^  sign  a pledge  ? Why  is 
it  not  as  Avell,  and  even  better,  for  each  one  to  abstain,  take 
care  of  himself,  and  1st  all  others  do  the  same  ? What  is  the 
benefit  of  visible,  organized  union  ? Do  you  remember  the 
time  when  jmur  fathers  and  mothers  could  not  drink  tea 
without  sanctioning  that  odious  principle,  taxation  Avithout 
representation?  And  A\"hat  did  the  men  of  ’76  say?  Let 
each  one  take  care  of  himself?  Let  us  have  no  visible  agree- 
ment, no  pledge?  Hear  the  voice  of  the  delegates  of  Vir- 
ginia, assembled  at  Williamsburg,  August  1,  1774:  “Con- 
sidering the  article  of  tea  as  the  detestable  mstrument  which 
laid  the  foundation  of  the  present  sufferings  of  our  distressed 
friends  in  Boston,  we  view  it  with  horror ; and,  therefore, 

“ Resolved,  That  we  will  not,  from  this  day,  import  tea 
of  any  kind  whatever,  nor  will  ice  use  it,  nor  suffer  such  as 
may  now  be  on  ha/nd  to  be  used  in.  any  of  our  families.^' 
They  invited  others  throughout  the  country  to  join  them. 
They  did  so  ; and  the  effects  Avere  felt  across  the  Atlantic. 
They  are  felt  throughout  our  country,  and  they  Avill  be  felt 
in  every  land,  to  the  end  of  time.  What  was  the  benefit  of 
that  combination  ? that  visible  agreement  ? that  universal 
pledge?  Strength,  action,  success.  Suppose  each  man, 
Avhen  the  armies  of  oppression  Avere  poured  in  upon  our 
country,  had  said,  I Avill  abstain  from  helping  them ; and  I 
Avill  abstain,  too,  from  all  visible  agreement  with  others  to 
oppose  them.  I Avill  make  no  pledge ; and  when  I fight, 
Avill  fight  single-handed,  and  do  my  OAvn  fighting  in  my 
own  Avay.  Then  had  the  enemy  triumphed,  and  we  never 
had  been  free.  And  if  we  could  not  conquer  Britons  with- 
out visible,  organized  union,  can  Ave  conquer  that  before 
which  not  only  Britons,  but  Americans  too,  have  fallen,  and 
in  vastly  greater . numbers  than  fell  for  their  country’s  in- 
dependence ? 

But  another  may  say.  Why  should  / join  a temperance 
society  ? I am  temperate.  And  suppose,  when  the  declara- 
tion of  his  country’s  independence  was  to  be  signed,  a man 


14 


NATIONAL  CIRCULAR. 


[150 


among  the  noble  band  of  patriots  had  said,  Why  ask  me  to 
sign  it?  I am  a patriot  already.  Would  not  his  patriotism 
have  been  something  more  than  suspected  % 

But,  says  another,  I should  be  ashamed  if  I could  not  ab- 
stain from  ardent  spirit  without  binding  myself,  and  signing 
a paper.  And  suppose  that  one  had  said,  when  the  declara- 
tion of  independence  was  handed  to  him  to  sign,  I should  be 
ashamed  if  I could  not  be  a patriot  without  binding  myself, 
and  signing  a pledge.  The  object  of  signing  that  paper  was 
not  to  make  men  patriots ; but  it  was  to  lead  all  patriots  to 
unite,  and  free  their  country.  The  great  object  of  tempe- 
rance societies  is  not  to  lead  their  members,  by  signing  a 
paper,  to  abstain  from  the  use  of  ardent  spirit,  and  make 
them  temperate;  but  it  is  to  unite,  in  a visible,  organized 
union,  all  that  do  abstain,  and  are  temperate;  in  order  to 
show,  by  e.vample,  the  most  powerful  of  teachers,  that  men 
of  all  ages  and  conditions,  and  in  all  kinds  of  business,  are, 
in  all  respects,  better  without  it.  And  when  this  is  shown  as 
by  visible,  united  example,  it  may  be,  no  one,  enlightened 
on  this  subject,  can  avoid  the  conviction  lhal  it  is  morally 
wrong  to  use  it,  or  to  furnish  it  for  the  use  of  others,  be- 
cause of  the  evils  which  are  inseparably  connected  with  the 
use  of  it. 

But,  says  another,  I do  not  like  to  bind  myself  never  to 
use  it.  I do  not  use  it  now,  and  do  not  intend  to  use  it,  yet 
who  knows  but  that,  at  some  future  time,  I may  wish  to  use 
it ; and  perhaps  ma)'  think  it  my  duty  to  use  it  ? And  sup- 
pose when  that  immortal  instrument,  to  which  we  have  re- 
ferred, came  round  to  be  signed,  one  had  said,  I do  not  like 
to  bind  myself  never  to  serve  king  George ; I do  not  sen’e 
him  now,  and  do  not  mean  to  serve  him,  yet  who  knows  but 
that  at  some  future  time  I may  wish  to  serve  him,  or  per- 
haps may  feel  it  to  be  my  duty  to  do  it?  Many  do  think  it 
to  be  their  duty,  and  perhaps  1 may  think  it  to  be  mine.  I 
do  not  like  to  sign  away  my  liberty.  I wish  to  have  the 
liberty  to  be  a slave  when  I choose.  Would  not  that  baud 
of  patriots  have  been  ashamed  that  they  had  such  a one 
among  them?  And  what  would  they  have  thought,  if  they 
found  one  doubting  whether  he  could  sign  such  a pledge 
without  in  some  way  infringing  upon  his  duty  to  God,  or 
lessening  his  own  dignity  and  independence?  Happily  for 
our  country,  such  among  that  noble  band  were  not  found. 


15J] 


NATIONAL  CiaCOLAR. 


15 


And  more  liappy  will  it  be,  if  such  among  their  descendants 
never  shall  be  found.  The  free  institutions  for  which  our 
fathers  fought  and  bled,  for  which  they  were  not  ashamed  to 
pledge  their  fortunes,  their  lives,  and  their  sacred  honor,  will 
then  be  handed  down  inviolate  to  posterity.  The  object  of 
the  pledge  of  temperance  societies  is  not  to  bind  men  never 
to  use  ardent  spirit  till  they  die,  provided  that,  after  full  ex- 
amination, they  shall  think  it  to  be  their  duty  to  use  it.  They 
are  voluntary  associations  of  all  that  do  not  use  it,  and  who 
are  disposed,  for  the  good  of  their  children  and  their  coun- 
try, to  unite  in  them.  But  should  any  one,  at  any  future 
time,  after  an  impartial  examination,  find  that  his  duty  to 
God,  his  children,  or  his  country,  requires  him  to  drink  ar- 
dent spirit,  he  is  at  full  liberty,  by  making  known  his  re- 
quest and  his  reasons  to  the  Secretary  of  the  society,  to  take 
a dismission  and  have  his  name  stricken  off  from  the  num- 
ber of  those  who  do  not  use  it;  and  he  stands  on  his  own 
responsibilit3r,  as  he  did  before.  But,  as  it  is  with  freedom 
irom  submission  to  tyrants,  so  is  it  ivith  freedom  from  the 
use  of  ardent  spirit ; the  longer  and  more  perfectly  a man  is 
free,  the  less  disposed  he  is  to  return  into  bondage. 

And  of  hundreds  of  thousands  who  have  united  with  tem- 
perance societies  on  the  plan  of  abstinence  from  the  use  of 
ardent  spirit,  none  have  been  found  who  have  tried  it  two 
years,  who  would  not  acknowledge  that  they  were  better 
without  it ; nor  is  there  the  least  reason  to  fear,  when  the  ex- 
periment is  fairly  made,  but  that  this  will  be  the  case  with  all. 

But  why,  it  is  asked,  should  women  belong  to  temperance 
societies  1 Because,  under  the  light  of  the  Gospel,  which 
raises  women,  in  excellence  of  character  and  ability  to  do 
good,  to  an  equality  rvith  men,  every  association  composed 
of  both,  will  more  than  double  its  influence  over  the  public 
mind,  especially  over  the  minds  of  youth  and  children.  And 
the  grand  object  of  efforts  for  the  promotion  of  temperance, 
is  the  salvation  of  the  children.  And  to  accomplish  it  we 
need,  and  must  have  the  influence  of  mothers  as  well  as 
fathers ; sisters  as  well  as  brothers. 

There  is  another  reason  why  all  women  should  unite 
with  temperance  societies.  More  than  a hundred  thousand 
of  the  lovely  daughters  of  the  last  generation  were  doomed 
to  the  tremendous  curse  of  having  drunken  husbands,  and 
rearing  their  little  ones  under  the  blasting,  withering  in- 


Date  Due 

fluence  of  drunken  fathers.  But  there  is  no  need  of  it.  Let 
the  fathers  and  mothers,  the  brothers  and  sisters  of  this  gene- 
ration, all  cease  to  use  intoxicating  drinks,  and  unite  their  in- 
fluence in  temperance  societies,  and  the  daughters  of  the 
next  generation,  and  of  all  future  generations,  practising  on 
this  plan,  shall  be  for  ever  free. 

And  there  is  another  reason  why  women  should  belong 
to  temperance  societies.  Multitudes  of  the  last  generation 
were  made  drunkards  by  the  customs  of  society.  Tho.ugh 
the  appetite  for  ardent  spirit  is  not  natural,  and  would  never 
exist,  were  it  not  formed  by  the  use  of  it,  it  has  been  formed 
not  only  in  the  cradle,  but  in  many  cases  has  been  coeval 
almost  with  life  itself  Even  the  mother,  when  her  infant 
was  unwell,  and  she  did  not  wish,  during  the  night,  to  be 
kept  awake  with  it,  drank  the  poison  herself ; and  the  help- 
less babe  slept  like  a drunkard,  and  for  a similar  reason; 
and  the  drunkard’s  appetite  was  formed  there;  and,  as  if  that 
were  not  enough,  as  it  lay  in  the  cradle  she  fed  it  with  a tea- 
spoon, and  the  drunkard’s  appetite  was  strengthened ; and 
no  sooner  could  it  walk,  than  the  father,  after  he  had  been 
drinking,  gave  it  the  bottom  of  the  glass,  sweetened  in  the 
most  enchanting  manner,  and  the  drunkard’s  appetite  was 
confirmed.  And  before  the  heedless  youth 'had  hardly  en- 
tered upon  manhdod,  he  stumbled  into  the  drunkard’s  grave, 
was  covered  up,  and  his  destroyers  were  glad  to  forget  him. 
But  there  is  no  need  of  it.  Let  the  customs  of  society  be 
changed,  and  each  individual  unite  with  others  to  touch  not, 
taste  not,  and  handle  not  the  abominable  thing,  and  the  evil 
will  be  done  away.  Generations  yet  unborn,  to  all  future 
ages,  saved  by  simply  ceasing  to  do  evil  and  learning  to  do 
well,  will  rise  up  and  call  you  blessed. 

Could  we  exhibit  to  the  world  the  noble,  the  sublime  spec- 
tacle, of  fifteen  millions  of  people  rising  in  their  strength, 
and  voluntarily  renouncing  the  tyranny  of  pernicious  cus- 
tom, and  resolving  henceforward  not  to  be  in  bondage,  even 
to  themselves,  but  to  be  doubly  free,  we  should  be  indeed 
the  people  which  the  Lord  hath  blessed.  And  it  would  do 
more  than  all  which  has  ever  yet  been  done  to  render  our 
free  institutions  permanent ; and,  by  the  manifestation  of 
their  blessings,  to  spread  their  causes  and  their  attendants, 
knowledge,  virtue,  and  blessedness,  throughout  the  world. 


PUBLISHED  BY  THE  AMERICAN  TRACT  SOCIETY,  N,  YORK. 


Duke  University  Libraries 


D01122779T 


